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FIBRILIA 



A PRACTICAL AND ECONOMICAL 



SUBSTITUTE POR COTTON 



EMBRACING A PULL DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCESS OP COTTONIZING '^ 
PLAX, HEMP, JUTE, CHINA GRASS, AND OTHER FIBRE, SO 
THAT THE SAME MAY BE SPUN OR WOVEN 
UPON EITHER COTTON OR WOOLLEN 
^ MACHINERY. 

J r 

A V 

\|' TOOETUER WITH A HISTORr OP THE 

GPwOWTH AND MANUFACTURE OF WOOL, COTTON, 
FLAX, ETC., IN EUROPE AND AMERICA. 



W^&^ IlliislratiottS front ^Ticrostopical ^jfamhtalions. 



BOSTON: 

L. BURNETT AND COMPANY, 

No. 22 Phcenix Building. 
1861. 






/ 



^'^V 



Entered accoiding to Act of Congress, in the year 1861, by 

L. BUENETT & Co., 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 



c]^in 



BOSTON: 

PRINTED BY DAMRELL & MOORE, 

16 Devoxshibs Sxeket. 



DEDICATION 



To tlie Farmers and Mechanics of the American Union, 
"whose hearts and hands support the dignity of manual labor ; 
whose efforts gave life, birth, and vigor to the Republic ; whose 
patriotism has ever sustained its laws ; and whose blood is ever 
ready to flow in maintaining its political integrity, — this volume 
is respectfully dedicated by the 

AUTHOR. 



NEW DEFINITIONS. 



FiBRiLiA. — An article made from the fibres of fiax, hemp, jute, 
China-grass, and similar vegetable products. 

Glumien. — The compound of gum, resin, albumen, gluten, and 
other like substances, which cements the fibres of flax, hemp, 
jute, China-grass, &c., together, and which remains after the 
filaments of these plants are separated from the stalk on which 
they grew. 

LiNTEN. — The short fibres of flax, hemp, jute, &c., in their brown 
state, and reduced to an equal length by machinery, preparatory 
to being bleached, cottonized, &c. ' 

FiBRiLiZED, OR CoTTONizED. — The result of processes by which 
fibrous material is reduced to the appearance and consistency 
of cotton at the time the latter is ready for the spinner, and 
hence capable of being worked along with or upon the same 
machinery as that wellknown staple. 

ACTIEN. — A supposed primary principle, more subtile than either 
electricity or magnetism, emanating from the sun towards its 
planets, — producing a constant crystallization of matter, and 
reducing it to its utmost density ; creating light, heat, 
color, &c., in its combustion with the atmosphere. 



A SUBSTITUTE FOR COTTON. 



" As this work goes to press, the civilized world is beholding 
with astonishment the spectacle of one of the largest, most 
intelligent, energetic, and wealthy republics which has ever 
existed being suddenly checked in her prosperous career ; her 
industry, exchanges, and commerce almost paralyzed ; and her 
empire in process of being rent asunder, or broken into frag 
ments, — all at a time when plenty exists within her borders, 
and no enemies threaten or assail her from without. 

This picture becomes more startling in its political contrast, 
from the fact that it opens at a time when Italy is being regene- 
rated, imperial France is heading towards liberalism, and Kussia 
has proclaimed the total abolition of serfdom ; while the United 
States seem evincing to the world that the very best form of 
government for universal freedom which human wisdom has 
yet devised, and which promised to become a model for other 
nations, is unable to hold together the most intelligent and 
enterprising people on the western continent for even a century. 
The political economist, the merchant, the manufacturer, and 
the farmer of our own country join in one voice of inquiry as to 
the cause of this commotion within our midst, and which is so 
paralyzing in its results. 

From tracing cause to effect, the free thinker reduces the 
whole subject to one word, and that is " Cotton ! " The next 



VI A SUBSTITUTE FOR COTTON. 

question which naturally arises is, — Is there any relief ; is there 
any practical substitute for this fibre, which can be used by 
the manufacturers of the Northern States? 

The object of putting forth this treatise is to show that there 
is such a substitute within the reach of every northern manu- 
facturer, and that it can be produced in large quantities In every 
State of the Union, from Maine to Texas, at a profit both to the 
firmer and manufacturer. The sudden and almost prostrating 
influence of the late panic on the manufacturing interests of the 
North has been deeply felt by most every class of the commu- 
nity. Three months ago that interest seemed the most perma- 
nent and prosperous of the large elements which contribute to 
the Individual and national prosperity ; now, at first sight, all 
would seem darkness and gloom in that direction. Such de- 
pressions should not exist, — and need not, providing, that, 
before we give them place in our minds, we reflect upon the real 
nature and permanency of the blessings which surround us in 
abundance, still unimproved. 

The agricultural interests of any country become the more 
important when the questions of life become narrowed down to 
a bare individual subsistence : the manufacturing interest comes 
next, and then the mercantile. All three of these seem insepa- 
rably connected ; and no one of them should be so overstrained 
as to lose Its balance for such causes as have produced the recent 
distress in the public mind. The soil of every State in the 
Union h equal to the production of sufficient bread and meat for 
the support of its inhabitants, if properly cultivated ;* and the 
mechanical advantages and appliances of each are sufficient to 
manufacture for all of its requirements : these Interests, united, 
will create a commerce adequate to the support of the others. 



A SUBSTITUTE FOR COTTON. Vll 

The Northern States have neglected agriculture too much, and 
perhaps have pressed manufactures and commerce too far for a 
permanent success, in view of purchasing their raw material from 
"without their own limits. A drain of from twelve to fourteen 
millions of dollars annually, from one State to another, is a 
large sum, and must produce a disjointure of some of the ele- 
ments of prosperity sooner or later. An equilibrium should be 
maintained in every section of country, State or Nation, without 
which confusion in some shape will follow the course of trade. 

The author, for many years past, has been of the opinion that 
the trade between the North and South would have to find a 
new equipoise, or it would be broken up. The feeling by Mas- 
sachusetts that she had the advantage over any other State for 
manufactures, and sought to maintain her superiority in that 
respect by legislation ; or that South Carolina should in the same 
way assert her claim to the exclusive growth of cotton, and 
demand that she should be protected in that monopoly by legal 
enactments, — would, in time, prove a subject for all kinds of 
discord and mercantile confusion. There is no doubt in the 
author's mind that greater harmony would prevail, if Massachu- 
setts could raise her own cotton, and that South Carolina should 
manufacture a portion at least of hers at home. An equilibrium 
is wanted ; and, while we may safely leave South Carolina to 
choose her own, we may claim the same right and privilege. 
A substitute for cotton may answer that purpose for the Northern 
States. If so, may it not prove a blessing to the nation and the 
world ? Will not its production create that equipoise between 
states and nations, now needed to produce the harmony required 
for permanent commercial success ? 
What, for instance, would be the result to Massachusetts in a 



Vlll A SUBSTITUTE FOll COTTON. 

pecuniary and political sense, if slie raised her own cotton for 
twenty-five years, and consequently retained the value of what 
she now uses from abroad within her own limits ? The differ- 
ence in agricultural labor for that purpose would employ all her 
surplus laborers, now half the year idle, which of itself would be 
a great gain ; while the saving of money would be at least twelve 
millions of dollars per annum, which, in twenty-five years, with 
interest, would double the amount of her valuation for 1860. 
Would not this sum, saved within her own borders, make her 
the most wealthy and independent State in the world, accord- 
ing to her population ? Would she not feel, if permitted to 
enjoy the simple political rights guaranteed to her under the 
Constitution, politically independent of all the rest of the world ? 
And yet with the same capital she now has, the same popula- 
tion, the same manufacturing and agricultural interests that she 
now possesses, she can save all this sum annually, whether she 
uses or sells the product of her farms. 

If she turned but two hundred and fifty thousand acres of her 
tillable land, out of her two million one hundred thousand acres, 
to the culture of flax, which would pay a greater average 
profit than any thing she now raises, the product, when made 
into fibrilia, would be two hundred and fifty to three hundred 
thousand bales, which would be more valuable than the same 
quantity of cotton. 

This amount could be doubled, if need be, within a very few 
years. From an intimate acquaintance with fibrous manufac- 
tures from childhood, as well as the growth of the prominent 
fibres herein treated, which are found in the United States, the 
author early became convinced that a fair substitute for cotton 
could be produced in the Northern and Western States, and that 



I 
A SUBSTITUTE FOB COTTON. ix 

this substitute would prove alike profitable to the farmer and 
manufacturer, when fairly brought, out. 

Several visits to all of the Southern States, save Texas 
and Florida, and a large number through the North-western 
States, convinced him, that, although the crop of cotton would 
measurably be confined to a few of the Southern States, flax 
and hemp were more advantageously raised in the North-west, 
and these in time would become more valuable than the cotton 
crops. 

Experience has proved that flax can be raised at a profit in 
any of the New England States, and that the price of cottoniz- 
ing the fibre, added to the cost on the farm, will still leave the 
product below the price of cotton at the mills. 

In the North-west there are hundreds of thousands of tons of 
flax raised simply for the seed, while the straw is thrown away ; 
and when this straw is saved, and made into fibrilia, the profit to 
the farmer for the additional price paid for the flax will make 
his crop of that fibre one of the best he can raise. The amount 
of hemp and flax that will be raised for cottonizing, when the 
process becomes thoroughly understood, and the machinery is 
fully introduced, will be equal to the demand, and more than 
the annual crop of cotton in the South. At present the straw 
can be brought from Ohio, and the fibre cottonized in Massa- 
chusetts, at a prime cost of less than eight cents per lb. When 
all the appliances are properly made, it ought to be produced by 
each manufacturer of cotton or wool, at his own factory, for six 
or seven cents per lb. 

The following treatise has been prepared in view of an- 
swering some of the questions daily asked by the public, as to 
what the Northern States are to do for cotton, in case of a serious 



X A SUBSTITUTE FOR COTTON. 

rupture with the South. A much larger work was contem- 
plated by the author, touching the manufactures of Europe and 
America, as well as the means of supply of fibrous material for 
their use, and the influences which both the agricultural and 
manufacturing interests of a country exert in maintaining its 
integrity, and permanency of government among the nations 
of the earth. 

In abridging this, it has been somewhat difficult to maintain 
that harmony through a whole work, thus shortened and cut 
down, which would have eome in in natural order if the original 
idea had been carried out. 

In this hastily written work are presented the results of a 
variety of experiments and investigations, having the object 
above stated in view. Whether these are of value or not, the 
public can judge, and time will disclose. Man creates nothing ; 
he but discovers and supplies what already exists. There never 
yet was a pressing universal want, but some bold investigator dis- 
covered that Nature had some hidden store in reserve for it. 
The route to such discovery is open to all ; and if, in this work, the 
author shall have but pointed the way to the treasure, which is so 
much needed to give increased income to the farmer, independ- 
ence to the manufacturer, wealth to all sections of the country, 
and peace to the nation, he will be content. And in this spirit 
he cheerfully invites the co-operation of all who have given 
attention to the discovery of a practical substitute for cotton. 



FlMfX 'I 




FIBRES OF NATURAL FLAX 



luffc-ds L:ex- 



FIBEILIA. 



FiBRiLiA is a name given to a new article for textile 
fabrics, procured by new, peculiar, and patented processes, 
from various kinds of long, fibrous, vegetable substances, 
reduced to a short stapled fiibril, like cotton and wool, so 
that the same may be mixed with eitlier of these, or can 
be spun and woven separately on either cotton or woollen 
machinery. 

To a certain extent, it may become a substitute for 
either cotton or wool. 

When twenty-five per cent fibrilia is mixed with seventy- 
five per cent fine wool, and the same is properly manufac- 
tured into broadcloth, the cloth is absolutely more valuable 
than though the same was pure wool. 

The reasons for this are, that the real strength of the 
cloth is enhanced ; it becomes more impervious to water ; 
is warmer ; and through its tenacity and flexibility, its 
cementing and uniting properties, and its electrical adhe- 
siveness, the fibriha not only imparts preservative qualities 
to the wool, and increased durability to the cloth, but gives 
to the latter a gloss and finish it could not have if fibrilia 
were not combined with it. 

A change in proportion, eitlier above or below the per 
centage named, for many other kinds of goods, may be 
made to great advantage. 



2 FIBRILIA. 

There are few articles of manufacture, now made from 
wool, but what might be improved in value by adding a 
proper proportion of fibrilia. 

The specific gravity of fibrilia is a little greater than 
cotton, and its ultimate fibril is much stronger ; so that, 
when mixed with cotton, and woven into any kind of 
fabrics, the cloth will be both heavier and stronger than 
though the same was pure cotton. 

The superior lustre of fibrilia in cloth will distinctly 
maintain itself through the mixture. And, whether the 
same be used in fine bleached white, or shall be put in 
colors, the distinction holds good in wear. 

Fibrilia goods thus take a better color, and hold the 
same with more tenacity and brilliancy, than cotton. It 
follows, then, that any mixture of fibrilia with cotton, in 
whatever manner the same may be used, will add to its 
strength, beauty, and consequent value. 

The mechanical action in the manufacture and blending 
of fibrilia with either cotton or loool is most harmonious ; 
the fibrilia mixing with either, and spinning with equal 
facility on the respective machinery adapted to them. 

When fibrilia is spun and woven pure, it makes an 
article of cloth different from any now used. The lustre 
and beauty of linen is maintained in its finish, with the 
softness and flexibihty of the finest cotton. 

Its natural shade and appearance, when simply dressed, 
would be something like a mixture of cotton and silk, with 
a small proportion of the finest wool; while its touch 
would somewhat resemble a fabric of the finest cotton, witl? 
a small per cent of wool. 

The facilities now at hand for the growth and manufac- 
ture of this new article, in the United States, warrants the 



FIBRILIA. 3 

supposition that it will soon be brought into market in 
large quantities, to contribute towards an unqualified de- 
mand which cannot be supplied at present with any other 
material. 

The ultimate or original fibriles, which in the agregate 
compose fibrilia, may be found in many plants grown in 
the United States, both wild and cultivated. And the 
same principle will apply to most parts of the globe, with 
less restrictions from the influences of climate and soil than 
any other class of fibres used in their natural state for 
manufactures. 

The most prominent of these plants which are now 
cultivated as articles of commerce and manufactures, and 
which at the present time can be most easily brought into 
practical and profitable use, are Flax, Hemp, Jute, and 
China Grass, — the two former of which can be grown in 
nearly every part of the United States with success and 
profit. 

Among other plants yielding a good fibre for certain 
kinds of manufacture, some of which are capable of being 
reduced to fibrilia, are the Banana, Nettle, Palm Leaves, 
Ferns, Stalks of Beans, Peas, Hops, Buckwheat, Potatoes, 
Heather, Broom, Cotton ; the straws of the cereals, if taken 
before ripened ; many grasses and sedges ; common rushes ; 
leaves which cover the ears of Indian Corn ; the Pita, or 
great Aloe ; Pine Apple, Wild Kue, Thistle, Wild Indigo, 
Hollyhock, Mallow, Althea, Black and White Mulberry 
Yellow Willow, Sugar Cane, Grape Vine, and American 
Papyrus. 

Most of these stalks differ more from each other in their 
external architectural and physical structure, than in the 
real condition of their fibre or fibrils. Many of these, 



4 FIBRILIA.. 

which appear coarse and harsh when separated only down 
to their filaments or fibres, show a very distinct and silky 
substance when reduced to their ultimate fibrils. Some of 
them, which make very strong fibres for coarse manufac- 
tures, cannot be separated into fibrils for making fibriha 
without great trouble and expense, — too much, in fact, to 
be practical, even though, when thus separated, they may 
form the most beautiful fibrils known. 

The mechanical structures of the original stalks differ 
very much from each other, and the ^chemical properties 
wliicli cement the fibres together also vary in different 
plants. In some, the woody substances predominate much 
farther than is necessary to create a practical value to the 
fibre or seed ; while, in others, there is barely woody mat- 
ter enough to sustain the weight of the stalk, in its growth, 
in producing a valuable crop of either seed or fibre. 

In some plants, the abundance of seed seems to be the 
main object of the growth and value of the stalk ; in which 
case, the properties of the cement which holds the fibres 
together are quite different. In all cases there appears to 
be one law manifest in the formation and arrangement of 
the chemical juices and substances which cement the vari- 
ous parts of the stalk, bark, filaments, fibres, and fibrils 
together. 

Each department, in maintenance of its own mechanical 
structure and position, for the time being, calls for precise- 
ly the same compound of attraction to enable it to sustain 
itself in the different stages of its growth. These proper- 
ties or juices may change their location from the inner to 
the outer, or the outer to the inner, during the process of 
growth ; but this does not take place until, for the time 
being, they are actually changed by the absorption of 
gases from the earth below or the air above. 



FIBRILIA. 5 

The process of their growth may be watched with thrill- 
ing interest during the full term ; and the anatomical de- 
velopments of each day open a new world of vision, perfect 
in all its laws, to the microscopical eye. 

One period develops the hydraulic or hydrodynamic 
principle ; another shows gaseous affinities in distillation ; 
another proves the value of electrical currents ; while the 
last change before the plant is ripe seems to be of oxydiza- 
tion. Distinct forcible propulsion of the juices from cells 
below to higher ones above are visible, leaving at each 
stopping-place a small ring or circle in the fibril, having 
the appearance of a joint ; while the changing form of the 
crystalization of colors is apparent from hour to hour, and 
day by day, according to the variations of light and heat 
upon the plant, and the secretions of oxygen in its support. 
Gradually, as the plant becomes ripened, the electrical 
affinities decrease, and the hardened juices become more 
negative in their conductive powers. 

In separating these fibres for practical use, the same law 
must be observed in extracting the chemical properties of 
the plant that existed m their first combination ; great care 
being taken to treat each property of matter according to its 
own condition and nature, without making an attempted solu- 
tion of the whole at once, which would fail in the desired re- 
sult. When all the elements of the cementing compound 
in the fibres are treated simply and separately, they can be 
easily controlled ; but, when dealt with otherwise, each step 
will be one of retrogression in fact. The solvents to be 
used in the process of separation are those most natural to 
the combination of the gases and of fluids in the growth 
of the plant, and may be used in connection with the 
proper mechanical operation with harmonious success. 



b FIBRILIA. 

Where resinous bodies prevail, and it is found hard to 
solve them without the adoption of the old mode of treat- 
ment by a strong solution of acids, an emulsion of spirits 
of turpentine and water may be used with success. The 
spirits, having been distilled from the rosin originally, will 
have the proper solving affinity when again applied in the 
form of original distillation. A species of the fixed oils in 
the dry fibres of flax may be solved by the same mechani- 
cal process, using linseed oil instead of spirits of turpen- 
tine ; showing the same mechanical affinity that existed in 
the previous illustration, the principle holding good in case 
of all fibrous plants. 

The same principle must be carried out in the solution 
of all the cementing compounds which hold the fibres to- 
gether. In some stages of the process of disintegrating 
fibres, a certain form of magnetism and electricity can be 
used with success. 

The full development of this principle in a practical use 
of all fibrous plants will prove much that has not yet been 
attempted ; and it remains for practical illustrations of such 
experiments to show to the world which of the plants is 
the most valuable under this treatment, and what new sys- 
tems may be adopted in the management of fibrous sub- 
stances not at present used in the manufacture of textile 
fabrics. 

FIBRILIA FROM FLAX. 

The object to be attained in making fibrilia from flax is 
the most natural and easy method of extracting the glumien 
from the filaments and fibres, disintegrating them from 
each other longitudinally, and stranding the fibres at their 



FIBRILIA. 7 

natural points of cohesion, where the ends overlap each 
other. This requires that simple solving process which 
shall soften the glumien to such a consistency that the 
proper mechanical application of machinery will separate 
them naturally, and without breaking them in transverse 
sections across their solid longitudinal plane, which would 
thus leave blunt ends, that would not easily unite with each 
other in spinning. At the same time it must dissolve the 
glumien, which has a tendency to gather in small crystals 
on both the inner and outer side of the tube, or fibril ; 
rendering them inflexible and rough upon the external 
surface, and unattractive to each other. This accom- 
plished, the electrical power of the fibril is changed from a 
negative to a positive conductor ; and an entire altera- 
tion is apparent in the flexibility and softness of the 
yarn or cloth made from the same, and the degree of 
warmth it may appear to convey to the flesh when worn in 
direct contact with the skin. 

The length of the fibrils differing, and it being very de- 
sirable to have them of a uniform length for spinning, they 
can be very easily separated from each other by a simple 
comb card, with three sections, which will deposit the 
fibrilia in corresponding lengths, in separate places. This 
mode of treatment is not applicable to the manufacture o1^ 
linen under the old process, as in that case the fibrils are 
not separated, the fibre itself being used long line in form- 
ing the thread. 

The expense of preparing the fibre by the old method 
is much greater than in the manufacture of fibrilia ; while 
a thread cannot be made so evenly ; and, the glumien not 
having been extracted, a tedious and expensive process is 
necessary for bleaching, which to a certain extent, by great 



8 FIBKILIA. 

mechanical manipulation, may in some measure disintegrate 
the fibrils when in cloth, though not enough to change the 
electrical affinities of the glumien remaining, leaving the 
linen in that perpetual chilling state so apparent when first 
brought in contact with the skin. 

To carry out this principle practically, in making fibrilia, 
it is necessary to keep in view the cost of the production, 
as well as the quality of the goods. 

Every saving that can be made, in labor and expense to 
the farmer, is so much gain to the manufacturer and con- 
sumer. Of these saving principles belonging to the agri- 
cultural department in making fibriha, the following may 
be named as important to his interest : First, the mowing 
or cradling of the flax, instead of pulling it by hand 
according to the old method. Second, threshing the straw 
in a macliine, if need be, instead of rippling it, or 
beating it with sticks, when great care is rendered necessary 
to keep the straw straight, and from getting entangled. 
Third, by avoiding the old-fashioned and tedious process of 
rotting, which, though indispensable in some form for spin- 
ning long-line flax, is of no value, but rather an injury, in 
making a perfect article of fibrilia. 

These changes, in favor of the cost to the farmer in 
Raising flax, will enable him to afford the fibre to the manu- 
facturer at such a rate that he can produce a better article 
of commerce than cotton, at the same or even a less price. 

The great value of Unseed in the United States for oil 
and oil cake, together with the fibre of flax, will render a 
crop of that plant one of the most profitable that can be 
raised in the Northern, Western, or Middle States. The 
principal value of the old method of rotting the flax straw 
as now used, in some of the Western States, for manufac- 



POitr 1. 




FIBRES OF FLAX 
PARTLY ELIMINATED 

Ihcwietcr imufiidird '2l'tl 



J-E^Buffords LuK 313 "VJasliirLrfton St_Soj 



FIBRILIA. 9 

turing fibrilia, is in the great reduction of weight of the 
straw, which is quite an item where the same has to be 
carted ten or fifteen miles to the mills. This useless 
trouble and expenditure for carting so much waste woody 
matter can be avoided, by breaking the flax on the farm, 
under the new process ; although the farmer says he can now 
raise flax at great profit to himself, over raising some other 
crops, though the present price of the straw is very low, 
from the fact of the inability of farmers to supply them- 
selves at once with the proper brakes for the purpose. 
When thus supplied with brakes, which can be turned by 
horse-power, and which can be used with more facility in a 
neighborhood than an ordinary threshing-machine, he will 
be enabled to break the straw unrotted, saving the shives 
on the farm as a valuable food for his stock ; and can send 
the fibre or linten, cleaned and fit for use, in bales to mar- 
ket,, with as much certainty of a sale, and good remunera- 
tion, as the southern planter can now do with his cotton. 

SOLVING PROCESS. 

When the fibre of flax, or linten, as it is called, is 
cleaned and shortened under the new process, by the brake, 
from unrotted straw, and the same has been sent to the 
manufacturer, the first change it undergoes in the making 
of fibrilia is as follows : — 

When placed in a proper vessel for the purpose, the lin- 
ten is subjected to the action of heated air, charged with 
water, up to its point of saturation. 

The action of this saturated air produces an efiect upon 
the fibre which cannot be done either by immersing the 
same in water or by ordinary vapor. It softens and sepa- 
1* 



10 FIBRILIA. 

rates the elements that hold the fibre together, without 
destroying or injuring its natural structure, and opens the 
capillary tube, so that the albumen, gluten, gelatine, and 
resins, and coloring matters, can be readily reached and 
removed by water. When the saturation of air, by water 
alone, is not sufficient to soften the glumien, thus acted 
upon, other substances corresponding with the peculiar 
matters to be solved, such as spirits of turpentine, linseed 
oil, and other solvents, may be used by an emulsion with 
water. 

The air can be sufficiently heated by forcing the same 
through hot water connected with the kier, or retort, in 
which the linten is placed, or an emulsion of the solvents 
with water by an ordinary bellows : the air passing through 
the water, thus saturated, gradually ascends through the 
body of linten in the kier, till it pervades every nook and 
comer of the same, displacing the air in fibrils by capillary 
attraction, softening the glumien, and rendering the whole 
substance more easy of other solution than can possibly be 
effected if the fibre was completely covered with water. 
After having thus deposited its moisture, the air passes out 
through an opening in the top of the retort. K thus cov- 
ered, the air could not be so readily expelled from the tube 
of the fibril ; while the action of the oxygen upon the 
glumien could not be so perfect in effect, as though acting 
in connection with the saturated air, as before named. 
There is a great difference between heated vapor, and air 
at the same temperature, when charged with water, up to 
its point of saturation ; as air thus charged is much more 
penetrative, from the diminished volume of its globules, 
and its solving powers increased to a wonderful extent. 
The finest fibrils, thus treated, become filled with water, as 



FIBEILIA. 11 

may be observed with the aid of a powerful microscope. 
Exposure to watery vapor will produce no such effect, as 
the vapor will condense on the surface of fibrous material. 
After this air-bath, the glumien will be found in a molecu- 
lar, soluble condition ; and the fibres should then be exposed 
to boiled water, cooled down to about 140^ to 160°, and 
should be kept at that heat a proper length of time, say 
from three to five hours, when a large per centage of the 
glumien, or cementing matters, especially the albumen and 
green coloring matter, will be dissolved. If the water is 
suffered to rise to the boiling point, it will fix the albumen 
and coloring matter, with the more insoluble parts of the 
glumien, such as gum, resin, &c., and prevent the accom- 
plishment of the very object sought in opening the pores 
of the fibres ; namely, a removal of a large portion of the 
coloring matter and glumien, under a proper system of 
filtration by water. When this steeping process is com- 
plete, the cocks in the bottom of the retort, or kier, may be 
opened, and the liquids suffered to flow out ; care being 
taken to let in an equal amount of pure soft water at the 
top, that in the process of filtration, or washing, the water 
shall not at any time get below the top of the fibre in the 
kier, so as to admit a free action of air in and upon the 
same. This form of filtration should be kept up, until as 
much of the coloring matter is displaced as is practicable, 
when the same may be followed by a weak solution of 
alkalies, in which the fibre may be either steeped or boiled 
until sufficiently pure, by the solution of that part of the 
glumien which water alone will not dissolve. 

The time necessary for this steeping process in alkalies 
and the kind and strength of the material of the same, will 
vary according to circumstances. Generally, about three 



12 FIBRILIA. 

liours is sufficient ; and a solution of soda ash, of the strength 
of one to one and a half degrees of Twaddle, is found to 
be the most effectual solvent in this stage of preparation. 
In getting the test strength of the liquid, if Twaddle's 
hydrometer is used, the water should be prepared from 60^ 
Fahrenheit. When the fibre is in this state, magnetism 
has a very searching and penetrative effect upon it, and if 
applied by the use of an ordmary galvanic battery, in a 
convenient and proper manner, would refine the fibril to a 
degree not practicable in any other way. 

The alkalies may be washed out by a stream of water 
through the retort, as before described in filtration ; and, if 
a retort is used that will sustain a high steam pressure, it 
can be very effectually done by letting in a column of steam 
under pressure, and thus forcing the water out with great 
rapidity. 

The retort may be thus filled with water, which may be 
expelled by steam, a sufficient number of times to purify 
and clean the fibre effectually. 

If the fibre is not white enough for spinning and weaving 
with unbleached cotton for printing cloth, after the ordinary 
alkalies have been removed, a weak solution of chlorine 
may be used in the retort to bleach the same ; although as 
a general thing the alkalies thus used under a pressure will 
be sufficient, in which case no regular system of bleaching 
is necessary before the cloth reaches the finisher or calico- 
printer. If chlorine is used in the retort, it must be tho- 
roughly removed from the fibre by the proper acids or 
sours. 

All this process may be carried through without once 
removing the linten from the retort, from the time it is once 
fed into the same by machinery, to the removing of the 
fibre finished by the mechanical means. 



P/af,' '/. 






FIBRILS OFFLAX PREPARED 

Diauu'tiT Jiirapir/'fcd lOiYl 



J.H.Buffords 1~' 



FIBRILIA. 13 

A profusion of pure soft water, however, must be used 
under pressure of steam, as before named, in order to 
thoroughly wash the fibre. The alkaUes and acids may be 
drawn off and saved for further use, a number of times, 
with small additions for strength, if proper care is taken to 
preserve them. If a jet of steam is not sufficient to dry 
the fibre by passing through the retort from top to bottom, 
thus forcing out the water, a screw, or hydraulic press, may 
be arranged on the top of the retort, to force the water 
out. Then, if not sufficiently dry, the fibre may be dried 
in the sun, or by currents of warm air, or steam rollers, as 
used in ordinary drying-houses. If the fibre is to be colored, 
it may be done while in the retort, by applying the colors, 
under pressure of steam, as before described, or by either 
compressed air or water. An ordinary retort or kier, 
made properly for this purpose, would hold from two to 
three thousand pounds of fibre ; and one retort can be 
arranged to turn out this amount of fibre once in twenty- 
four hours. A similar, and in some respects more important, 
result, in refining the fibre, can be obtained by a revolving 
boiler capable of sustaining a high pressure of steam, with 
a counter motion of a shaft with arms passing through the 
same, which shall alternately plunge the fibre beneath the 
alkalies in the bottom of the boiler, and through the steam 
rising from the same to the top of the boiler; thereby sub- 
jecting it to a combined action of fluid and steam, as well 
as to the peculiar electrical power only known to exist in 
a steam boiler under great pressure. 

The principle of the air-bath and steeping process, as 
before described, is as applicable to the separating of the 
fibre from the straw of the flax plant as to dissolving the 
glumien in the fibre, when made from unrotted straw ; and 



14 FIBRILIA 

this process, even for preparing long-line flax for linen, 
would be better than any of the old rotting systems now 
practised in Europe. The air-bath may be omitted in the 
use of fibre that has been rotted, unless it is required to be 
refined to the utmost extent possible. 

MECHANICAL PROCESS. 

The mechanical part of the process of making fibrilia is 
no less important in its character than the chemical, or 
solving process ; and, as before named, needs to be pro- 
perly blended with the latter, to insure success. It 
necessarily begins on the farm, in the use of the proper 
brake to separate the fibre from the woody stalk on which 
it grew. This machine can be turned by horse power, and 
is portable, and can be readily transported from one farm- 
yard to another, so as to answer the purposes of a whole 
neighborhood. It consists of five or more sets of double 
peculiarly fluted rollers, properly secured and geared in a 
strong frame, with springs to govern the compression of 
the rollers, so arranged, as to the speed of their revolutions, 
that each succeeding pair of rollers shall revolve faster 
than the preceding, with a graduated decrease in the size 
of the rollers, as well as of the conical flutes ; so that, as the 
straw passes through, it shall not only crush out the 
shives, or woody harl of the straw, but at the same time 
separate the fibre at its natural points of cohesion by a 
tensile strain, stranding the same in regular order, accord- 
ing to the freedom with which the adhesiveness can be 
overcome. The effect of the operation of the constant 
strain of the fibres, and their friction against each other, as 
well as the shives, in passing between the rolls, is to clean 



P/flfr 




FILAMENTS OF FLAX 
ELIMINATED 

Ihameter jjiacpii/fcil iOP. 



B^affnrds L:^. 313 V/ashindtou St.Bos-^n 



FIBRTLIA, 15 

tliem more perfectly than has ever been done before by any 
known process. It leaves the fibre in lengths of from two 
to four inches ; and so perfect is the disjointure, that the 
ends of the fibrils show themselves expanded, like the two 
points of a stranded rope, and readily unite in spinning. 
After passing through the brake, the fibre saved is called 
linten, and the same should be passed through a picker or 
coarse c^krd, which also should be used on the farm, which 
cleans the fibre sufliciently for baling for market. One of 
the best brakes for this purpose now in use is the invention 
of Mr. Stephen Randal, of Centreville, Rhode Island, who 
spent many years in perfecting its operations. The me- 
chanical part of the process of making fibrilia has been so 
arranged, that it extends to the drawing head upon the 
spuming frame, which converts it into thread ; while the 
soluble part of the process is comprehended witliin a very 
distinct period of its history. The form of both necessarily 
varies, according to the condition of the fibre in the start. 
For instance, if rotted straw is used, the principle of the 
vaporizing process will not so closely apply to the anato- 
mical condition of the fibre as in unrotted straw ; and in some 
cases may be laid aside for the adoption of a more strin- 
gent application of the other parts of the soluble process. 

After the linten in its semi-bleached condition is removed 
from the retort, and the drying process has been completed, 
it is again passed through a peculiar form of picker, or 
coarse card, which fits it for the lapper and finishing card ; 
after which it passes through a railway head with a posi- 
tive draft, the rollers of which are arranged to draw the 
same in a similar manner to the operation of the original 
brake ; the fibres being stranded to their original length, or 
as nearly so as is desirable, according to the length of staple 



16 FIBRILIA. 

required. These finishing heads, together witli the separa- 
tor, or comb card, will give any length of staple, and 
separate the same in any form required for the successful 
spinning of the same, either separately or mixed with 
cotton or wool, on their respective machinery adapted to 
the manufacture of either of those substances. 

The system of making fibrilia bears no comparison in 
difficulty and expense to the old method of manufacturing 
linen. The different grades of fibre for the manufacturing 
of linen were somewhat established from the interception of 
the flax stalk at different periods of its growth ; and when 
not suffered to ripen, so far that its seed could be saved, 
the cost of the fibre was enhanced in proportion to the 
loss of this valuable product. 

The reasons for thus cutting the straw before it was ripe, 
although seemingly unknown to the old manufacturer of 
linen, were, the easier control of the ultimate fibril, and the 
ability to refine the same, from the fact that the juices of 
the stalk were more susceptible of distillation, they not 
having become hardened by crystallization. Even the ad- 
vantage thus gained was measurably lost under the old 
system of rotting, which had a tendency to fix some por- 
tions of the glumien, and precipitate the same upon the 
harder and less soluble parts of that cementing compound. 
To remove this in its hardened state, strong alkalies, acids, 
and other solvents, were used in the first instance, which, 
to some extent, made the fibre more harsh and inflexible 
than befo: e. 

The albumen becomes fixed in water heated to 212°, 
and, like the white of an egg, will grow harder and harder 
the more it is boiled ; while gluten cannot easily be solved 
after being exposed to boiling alkalies. It was not at- 



riBRILIA. 17 

tempted to separate the fibrils to their own natural lengths ; 
but the contrary effect was sought, in preserving the length 
of the fibre to as great an extent as possible. 

This fact, as has been before remarked, rendered the 
fibres of uncertain size and strength ; making an uneven 
thread, and showing its inequality through the finest hnen. 
To spin a thread composed of such unnatural component 
parts was quite difficult, as may be readily conceived ; and 
of late years a system has been used of passing the same 
through warm water in connection with the spindle, which 
softened it for the time being, and fixed the twist of the 
thread more tenaciously. To carry out this system, the 
trouble and expense of raising the flax was much enhanced ; 
for the flax stalk had to be pulled, and to be kept straight 
from entanglement in bundles ; while the expense of rotting, 
rippHng, breaking, and scutching, was pecuhar to the 
system, and much more expensive than the new process of 
making fibriha. 

The rotting part of the process is particularly trouble- 
some to the farmer, as it involves much labor, and dispro- 
portionate with the same in other periods of its growth. 
The practicability of profitably raising a large amount of flax 
must depend somewhat upon the uniformity of the amount 
of labor required throughout the whole season, as any crop of 
so important and universal a character in its aggregate 
must depend somewhat on the ability to command labor 
just when it is needed for the particular departments of its 
growth. If the annual growth of a certain amount of flax 
upon a farm would require a specific number of hands to 
cultivate and break it under one mode of treatment, and if 
those hands could be evenly and profitably employed all 
the time, it would materially affect the value and practica 



IB FIBRILIA. 

billty of the crop, provided some portion of the system did 
not harmonize with the rest, and that double the amount 
of hands should be required at particular seasons to secure 
the crop. One of the reasons for the great trouble and 
expense to the farmer heretofore in raising flax, has been 
the inequality of labor required throughout the season in 
perfecting the crop. 

Natural History of Flax. — According to the learned 
accounts which have been given by Lindly, Wilson, 
MacAdam, and others, " Flax belongs to the order Linece, 
in the natural system, which is equivalent to the order 
Pentandria Pentaginia in the Linnoean, — a small order, 
containing three genera and ninety species, which are met 
with, scattered irregularly over the greater part of the 
world. The botanical characters of the order are well 
marked, and render it easily distinguished from all others. 
It possesses four, or more commonly five, sepals ; the petals 
are always equal in number, and alternate with them. It 
has five stigmas and an ovarium, with ten divisions, or 
rather five perfect cells, which are separated again, by an 
imperfect partition, extending from an outer wall. In each 
of these cells is found a single seed, of a flattened, oval 
shape, and of a more or less dark brown color, — mucilagi- 
nous to the taste, and containing a large proportion of a 
brownish yellow oil, known as linseed oil. This oil is readily 
obtained, by pressure, from the seed ; the residuum being 
the well-known feeding substance termed linseed cake. The 
members of this new order, generally, are remarkable for 
the tenacity of their fibre ; the elegance of their shape ; the 
beauty of their flowers, which are blue, red, or white ; and 
the emollient and demulcent properties of their seed." 

Although there are many kinds of flax known to botanists 



FIBRILIA. 19 

as possessing fibres suitable for textile fabrics, the Linum 
Usitatissimum appears to be the only one which has been 
employed in cultivation. Of this Dr. Lindlj tells us' 
there are two very different forms, namely : " 1 . The Linum 
Humile, or Crepitans, a plant somewhat shorter and more 
inclined to branch than the other, and possessing larger 
capsules, twice as long as the calyx, which burst with 
considerable elasticity when ripe ; its seeds, too, are both 
larger and of a paler color. 2. The Linum Usitatissimum 
or true winter flax, which has smaller capsules, scarcely 
longer than the calyx, not bursting with elasticity, but 
firmly retaining their seeds, which are of a dark brown 
color." The cultivation of the plant by the ancients was 
by a preparation of the soil, in the manner corresponding 
with that for a crop of grain ; and it was left to grow very 
much the same as wheat, rye, or oats. 

Sometimes the lands were irrigated ; but, in most cases, 
the crop was raised without this preliminary process. 

When ripe, the stalks were pulled, dried, and rippled by 
hand ; and the seeds thus separated were saved in a con- 
dition either to sow again, or to be used for making oil. 

The plant was then spread upon the ground for rotting, 
which process tended to separate the woody parts of the 
stalk from the fibre, though it crystallized the cementing 
compound which bound the fibres together, rendering it 
more insoluble and harder to extract. When the process 
of rotting was finished, the flax was broken by an ordi- 
nary hand-brake, and scutched or swingled, by beating it 
with a wooden knife over the end of a stand-board. Under 
this system the fibre or filaments of the flax were preserved 
as near as possible to the whole length of the original stalk, 
and were spun by an ordinary hand-wheel. This process 



20 FIBRILIA 

of manufacture followed the plant from Egypt to Greece, 
Rome, Britain, and the United States ; and, until within 
a few years, but little improvement has been made, save in 
substituting power spinning-frames for the old Hnen-wheel. 
The filaments of flax, as they are torn by the old process 
from the natural stalk which they covered, hke the bark of 
a tree, average, like the stalk itself, some eighteen to 
twenty-four inches long, and are of a dark green color. 
They are composed of the natural fibres of the plant, 
cemented together Hke a bundle of sticks, with a compound 
which fills the interstices between, showing to the naked 
eye a continuous thread, of large or small proportions, 
according to the number of fibres the filament contains. 
These fibres are composed longitudinally, of a gi*eat num- 
ber of fibrils, from one to three inches long, which overlap 
each other, and are cemented together at the ends, with 
the same glutinous substance. Each fibril is a perfect 
tube in itself, which, when freed from the external deposit 
of resinous matter, becomes transparent. The ends of 
these fibrils seem thinner than the centre, thereby render- 
ing them better adapted to the sphce created in the forma- 
tion of the continuous fibre ; and which, when exposed to 
certain simple solving influences, will expand and separate, 
so that they present interlacing points at each end, num- 
bering from five to seven, which readily unite and twist 
with each other in spinning. These small points seem of 
themselves to be tubes, like the parent fibril, in the form 
of segments of circles, that, when united, form a tube as 
before named, with an apparent frame or brace work be- 
tween, connecting with a central support or pillar. [See 
Plate 6.] Appearances indicate that these tubes are open 
during the growing period of the stalk, and act as lungs, 



FIBRILIA. SI 

or cells of circulation from the heart, or woody core, 
within, to the atmosphere without. 

This tube is not destroyed in the process of manufacture,- 
but, unlike cotton, retains, both within and on the outer 
surface, the lees of the oil and sap, which it helps transmit 
to the ripening seed while on the original stem. These 
juices, combining different chemical properties, crystallize 
under the influences of the sun, and form that cementing 
compound which bind the fibres together, and which has 
heretofore baffled the efforts of the manufacturer to remove. 
To this general cementing compound, the specific name of 
" Glumien " has been given, representing its diversified cha- 
racter in one word. When dealt with simply and natu- 
rally, it is readily controlled. To accomplish this object, 
however, it requires both a mechanical and chemical pro- 
cess combined : neither will do it alone. 

When we take into consideration the peculiar properties 
combining any one of these compound principles, we are 
left in a labyrinth of uncertainty as to a perfect specific 
solution, or independent action of any one of the same. 
Gluten itself contains nitrogen, and has been called the 
vegito-animal principle. When subjected to distinctive 
distillation, it yields ammonia ; which of itself affords again 
a very large proportion of hydrogen, and a small proportion 
of nitrogen. Albumen affords a still more compHcated 
subject of analysis. It differs but little as an animal or 
vegetable production. Carbon forms more than one-half 
of its substance ; oxygen, some twenty-five per cent ; nitro- 
gen, a little more than fifteen per cent ; and hydrogen, a 
little more than seven per cent. 

The subdivisions of these properties, in turn, again mys- 
tify the way to specific action in its final disposition. 



»JS FIBRILIA. 

Enough, however, may be learned, from a careful examina- 
tion of this subject, to prove that the rotting or fermenting 
principle is inconsistent with the proper preparation of flax, 
for an easy and profitable system of manufacture ; and it 
has only been used for fibrilia, because as yet machinery 
has not been adopted to break the flax on the farm, and 
because the rotting process shrinks the straw in weight 
about one-quarter, which saves so much in transportation. 

ROTTING PROCESS. 

The rotting, or retting process, as sometimes called, has 
been divided into three departments, each of which assumes 
to answer the same purpose in the preparation of the fibre 
for manufacture. The first is termed dew-rotting; the 
second, pool-rotting ; and the third, stream-rotting. The 
two former are a species of fermentation, very analogous 
in the result, but different in the mechanical action. The 
latter is more after the form of filtration, and the result is 
very diflTerent. Some other plans have been adopted from 
time to time to hasten the separation of the glumien from 
the fibre ; but, as the result is different, they cannot properly 
be called the rotting or retting process. 

Dew-Rotting. — In what is termed dew-rotting, the flax 
straw is spread thinly and evenly upon the ground, and is 
subjected to the changes of the temperature and density of 
the atmosphere for some three to six weeks ; the same be- 
ing turned over once or twice during the time. The real 
changes in the glumien are various, according to the 
influences which operate for the time being upon the sub- 
stances which compose the same. The sun, with its accus- 
tomed and mysterious brilliancy, acting upon the dew that 



FIBRILIA. 23 

lies upon the straw, exhales the same ; and, true to its 
penetrative law, follows the wake of the receding globules 
into the fibre, opens the way for a gaseous attack upon 
the different elements of the glumien, which, from their 
peculiar composition, and attractive and repulsive qualities 
for each other, carry on a war for precedence and ascend- 
ency in the race for a new chemical affihation. This race 
is checked again by the decrease of light and heat, which 
calls down the falling dew, and changes the form of com- 
bustion from an active to a dormant negative action, which 
nourishes the generative Ufe-power, almost congealed for 
want of it, — again to be dispersed with the heat of another 
sun. 

The albumen, thus alternately moistened and dried 
again, is attacked by the gluten, which, acting as organs of 
genera in creating or hastening the functions of life, would, 
if suffered to go on in that form, produce myriads of living 
insects from the infinitessimal globules which pervade the 
albuminous compound. This generative principle of life is 
generally checked during this term by the inharmonious 
action of these changes ; the oxygen of the atmosphere so 
controlling the little eggs of life that they congeal or crys- 
tallize, affiliating with the more insoluble substances of the 
glumien and coloring matter, thereby becoming harder to 
solve than before rotting, — although this action may have 
evaporated a good deal of the watery substance in the 
straw, and loosed the fibre from the woody boon or stalk of 
the plant. If the temperature is sufficiently low during 
this process to produce frost, the changes are again pecu- 
liarized ; but nothing like the specific variations observable 
in the action of the sun, either in the production of animal 
life or the chemical changes in the glumien. From the 



24: FIBRILIA. 

action of this, — one of the smallest laboratories of Nature's 
great arcanum, in its specific observance, — we should 
be persuaded to doubt the correctness of generally 
received theories of light and heat. While neither of these 
seeming principles is in action, there is a dormancy per- 
vading this process, harmonizing very closely with the 
natural world without, at night, when darkness seems to 
intercept all principles of combustion as carried on in the 
day-time. When the moment arrives in which the sun's 
rays penetrate the workshops of nature, a new life and 
action is given to all things witliin his influence. Form, 
size, color, and action are all generated at a glance of his 
mystic eye ; wliile Hght and heat would seem to be pro- 
duced from causes inconsistent and conflicting with the 
present received theories of the historical age. 

The powers of attraction and gravitation, as well as the 
density and crystalUzation and congealation of matter, 
would find a new law if this be true, and would open to the 
world, or comprehension of man, a fundamental principle 
commanding a subtile fluid yet unknown, which would place 
electricity and magnetism in the line of secondary agents, 
and thus fill up that space now existing in the gravitating 
principles of countless worlds, as well as in the smallest 
particles of matter. Thus, from such an apparent insignifi- 
cant point as the workings of light and shade, combining 
color, in a small fibril of the flax plant, we niay instantly 
be led to draw analogies which control in their compass 
the sphere of worlds and the comprehension of organic 
matter. 

Water or Pool Rotting. — In pool-rotting, stagnant water 
has been used ; and it hastens the process, but is more hazar- 
dous, and stains the fibre more, than o^ream-rotting, where 



FIBRILIA. 25 

pure running water is used. Artificial tanks or pits are 
made in the ground, of sizes corresponding with the amount 
of fibre required to be done, which are dug generally to the 
depth of five or six feet. Sometimes stagnant ponds of water 
are used for the same purpose. The flax is bound up in 
sheaves, and placed in the water, sometimes in layers over 
each other, and sometimes upright, with the roots downward. 
It is immersed about a foot beneath the surface, and has to 
be pressed down under water, as it has a tendency to rise to 
the surface, especially when fermentation takes place, and 
the gases make it buoyant. The warmer the water, till it 
gets to about 80°, by the action of the sun or by artificial 
means, the sooner fermentation takes place, and the process 
will be finished.'^ The first action seems to be acetous 
fermentation, or the disengagement of carbonic acid gas, 
forming acetic acid or vinegar. The gluten, absorbing a 
little oxygen from the air, becomes insoluble, and induces 
subsequent changes with the albumen and other substances. 
A continuance of the steeping, however, will cause a 
reduction of the acid in the water, which, to a certain 
degree, becomes alkaline, from the production of ammonia, 
and will be fetid, from a separation of sulphurated hydro- 
gen gas with carbonic acid, the acetous fermentation being 
changed to putrid. Sometimes the flax is taken out before 
the acetous fermentation ceases, as there is great danger of 
its remaining long in the putrid ; giving the fibre a bad 
color, and shortening the same, yielding a large proportion 
of tow or waste. When the flax has been immersed for 
some little time, especially if the water is warm, the process 
of the expulsion of the air in the fibre is commenced ; and, 
in time, sufiicient will be disengaged to cause the fibre to 
2 . 



26 FIBRILIA. 

sink to the bottom. This, however, is governed very much 
by the rapidity of fermentation. 

The rotting of flax is deemed sufficient when the stalks 
readily sink to the bottom in being thrown into the water, 
and when the boon easily separates from the harl, and 
becomes so brittle when dry that the boon will break with- 
out bending. The length of time necessary to accomplish 
this object varies according to the character of the fibre, 
and the temperature of the water in which it is placed ; but 
generally it is done in from eight to fifteen days. After rot- 
ting, and washing in clean water, the flax should be dried 
in an airy situation by the sun, or some mechanical means. 
Flax straw when properly dried, after mowing, will shrink 
in weight from tAventy to thirty per cent, principally in the 
boon and harl. 

Stream-Rotting, — This process consists in placing the straw 
in a running stream of pure water, which acts readily upon 
the more soluble portions of the cementing compound or 
glumien, softening and disengaging it from the stalk. The 
coloring matter is more easily extracted in this manner than 
by pool-rotting ; and, though the process may be more diffi- 
cult to control, the fibre is left in a much better condition 
than in pool-rotting. The chemical action, however, varies 
in each of these three processes ; and neither is harmonious 
with a perfect solution of the glumien. In order to control 
this singular compound, each element must be dealt with 
separately in its order, and by the proper soluble agents. 
The action under fermentation and putrefaction is a com- 
pound one ; and each specific element in its own action, 
even if itself favorable, produces a counteraction in its 
neighbor. Thus a perfect inconsistency is wrought out, in 
the attempt to accomplish a favorable object. The fetid 



Flah- a 






SECTION THROUGH FIBRIL OF FLAX . 









X^:: 



1% 4» f^ 



SECTION THROUGH FILAMENTS OF FLAX. 



J H. Buff or is Litr- 313 Y/asKinoton. St.Eostou 



FIBRILIA. ^7 

and noxious exhalations, from vegetable matter, are very 
unhealthy ; but they differ from the animal from the more 
abundant presence of nitrogen in the animal. Vegetables 
which abound in nitrogeniforous principles exhale pecu- 
liarly nauseous effluvia. Rapidity of putrefaction is much 
influenced by temperature, moisture, and access of air. If 
it falls below the freezing point, or is exposed .to strong dry- 
ing influences, or if oxygen is excluded, the process becomes 
checked at once. There is a counteracting influence in 
the volatile oils of the glumien, — such especially as creosote 
and empyreumatic products, which are produced in some 
measure by the distillation of the woody part of the stalk, 
which would yield a small amount of pyroligneous acid. 
Another counteracting influence is the astringent property, 
or tanin principle, which pervades vegetable fibres, and 
which would act as counter agent in preserving organic 
tissues. It enters into chemical combination with the 
albuminous and gelatinous membranes and fibres, and ren- 
ders the ultimate fibril less liable to decay through long 
wear, when in cloth, than though this principle did not 
remain in the same. 

FLAX COTTON. 

The first attempts fo prepare flax to resemble cotton, in 
appearance and texture, were made in Europe more than 
one hundred years ago. Experiments were made by 
Palmquist, in the year 1745. In the Swedish Transactions 
for the year 1747, a description of the method and agencies 
employed for the purpose are published. They proved too 
tedious and imperfect, however, for practical use. 

In 1775, Lady Moira prepared specimens from both 



28 riBRILIA. 

hemp and flax fibre, so as to resemble cotton, which was 
followed by the experiments of Baron Meidingen, in 
1777 ; hj those of Haag, in 1778 ; by those of Kreutzer, 
in 1801 ; by those of Gobelli, in 1803 ; by those of Stadler, 
Haupfner, and Segalla, in 1§11 ; and those of Sokou, in 
1816. All the above experiments, together with those of a 
more recent date in Europe, have failed of a practical 
result. 

Chevalier Claussen, in his experiments in 1851, electri- 
fied the manufacturing world by his announcement that 
flax could be manufactured, under his process, into a cotton 
suitable for practicable spinning and weaving on the ordi- 
nary cotton machinery. 

The following description of Mr. Claussen's process is 
taken from " Ure's Dictionary of Arts and Manufactures." 
He says, — 

" In the following exemplifications of my improved 
modes of preparation, I shall throughout suppose flax or 
hemp to be the material operated upon. 

" If I have to deal with the plant from the time of its 
being first cut down or pulled for use, I take it in the 
state of straw (after the seed has been stripped from it), 
and subject it to the following, which I call my * primary 
process : ' — 

" I first steep the straw in a solution of a caustic alkali, of 
about 1° of Twaddle's hydrometer, and for such a length 
of time as may be most convenient. If dispatch is required, 
I use the solution in a boiling state ; in which case an im- 
mersion of about six hours is sufficient. If more time can 
be conveniently allowed, I employ a solution of a tempera- 
ture of about 150° Fahr., and prolong the immersion for 
about twelve hours ; and so in proportion to the degree of 



FIBRILIA. S9 

temperature. The solution may be even used at a lower 
temperature, with a corresponding prolongation of time ; 
but in no case need the immersion exceed a couple of days' 
at the utmost. 

" The object of the preceding treatment is twofold : 
First, to decompose, dissolve, or remove (more or less, as 
required) the glutinous, gummy, or other matters, which 
connect the fibre with the woody portions of the plants ; 
and, second, to discharge or decompose any oleaginous, co- 
loring, or extraneous matter contained in the straw, without 
allowing the matters so discharged to stain the fibre.. And 
these results are obtained by the action of the alkaline 
solution. In the preceding mode of preparing vegetable 
materials, I generally use a solution of caustic soda ; but 
other alkaline liquors will answer the purpose, — such as a 
solution of caustic potash, or of lime dissolved in or diffused 
in water, or indeed any substance having the like power 
of removing, discharging, or decomposing the coloring, 
glutinous, gummy, or other foreign matters contained in the 
straw, and which would interfere with the whiteness of the 
fibre, or with its ready separation and manufacture. 

" If the fibre is required to be long, like that now com- 
monly spun in flax machinery, I subject the straw to a 
second process for the purpose of getting rid of any of the 
alkali still adhering to the straw or fibre, and for the pur- 
pose of completing (if necessary) the removal of any glu- 
tinous, gummy, coloring, or extraneous matters. 

" To this end, I will take the straw from the alkaline 
solution, and steep it for about two hours in water acidu- 
lated by sulphuric acid, in the proportion of about one part of 
the acid to from two to five hundred parts of water. Some 
other dilute acids will also answer this purpose, such as 



30 FIBRILIA. 

dilute muriatic acid, &c.; but sulphuric acid is to be pre- 
ferred. Or I transfer the straw, while yet wet with the 
alkaline solution, to a suitable chamber or stove, where I 
subject it to the action of sulphurous acid, or the fumes 
produced by the slo^v combustion of sulphur. In both 
cases, the acid combines with any free alkali remaining on 
the straw or fibre to form a sulphite or sulphate, according 
to the acid employed ; while an excess of either sulphuric 
or of sulphurous acid will complete the decomposition, dis- 
charge, or removal of the glutinous, coloring, and other 
matters. 

" I next remove the straw from the acid bath, or sulphur 
chamber or stove, and wash or otherwise treat it with water 
till all soluble matters are removed. 

" If the fibre is required to be discolorised, the straw 
may now be exposed to one of the bleaching processes 
which I have already described, or to any of the other 
known bleaching processes. It may then be dried, and 
made ready for breaking and crushing by the means ordi- 
narily followed in the manufacture of long flax. 

" I would mention here, that in some cases it w^l be 
found advantageous to pass the straw between rollers, or to 
break it roughly or partially, before subjecting it to the 
process above described, for the purpose of facilitating the 
action of the chemical agents upon it. 

" By the aforesaid method, I am enabled to remove from 
the straw certain matters which water alone can discharge. 
The fibre thus prepared is also freer to heckle, and the straw 
more easy to scutch, than fibre or straw treated in the ordi- 
nary way. Much time and much material are also saved ; 
while the noxious exhalations attendant upon the water- 
rotting system are wholly prevented. If the fibre is 



FIBRILIA. 31 

required to be short, so that it may be felted or carded, and 
adapted for spinning on cotton, silk, wool, worsted, or tow 
spinning machinery, either alone or in combination with cot- 
ton, hair, fur, silk, or shoddy, I take the fibre, after treating 
it by the processes just described, and divide it in proper 
lengths by some suitable instrument or machine. I then 
transfer the straw or fibre to a bath containing a strong 
solution of bicarbonate, or even carbonate, of soda, or any 
other similar compound ; but the first two of these are to 
be preferred, as most abounding in carbonic acid. In this 
bath I allow it to remain for about three or four hours, 
during which time the fibre becomes well saturated with the 
salt. I then immerse the materials, impregnated with the 
solution of the carbonates before named, for about a couple 
of hours, in water acidulated by sulphuric acid of about the 
strength of one part of acid to two hundred parts of water. 
Or, instead thereof, I expose the saturated materials while 
wet to the action of burning sulphur in a suitable chamber 
or stove. In this operation it appears that a certain portion 
of gas, being developed in the fibrous tubes, splits and 
divides them by its expansive power into filaments having 
the character and appearance of fine cotton wool ; in which 
state they may be dyed and manufactured like cotton or 
wool. 

" The same means of effecting the sphtting of the fibre 
may, of course, be employed in the preparation of long 
fibre ; and I do not limit myself to its use for the prepara- 
tion of short fibres alone : but, when the fibre is of its 
original length, the solution employed takes a longer time 
to penetrate the interior. 

" The decomposition of the bicarbonate of soda, or other 
suitable compound with which the fibre is saturated, may 



S2 FIBRILIA. 

be also effected by means of electric agency, when a like 
evolution of gas and splitting up of the fibre will take place. 
After the fibre has been subjected to the splitting process, 
it must be carefully washed to remove all soluble matters, 
and then dried. 

" The splitting process may be applied to the plant either 
in the straw (the wood of which is to be afterward removed 
by proper means and machinery) or in the state of long 
fibre, whether prepared by my before-described process or 
by any of the usual and known processes. 

" Thirdly, my invention, in so far as it relates to improve- 
ments in yarns and felts, consists in composing the same of 
the following new combination of materials : I manufac- 
ture a yarn which I call ' flax-cotton yarn,' composed partly 
of flax fibre prepared and cut into short lengths as aforesaid, 
and partly of cotton, varying the proportions at pleasure. 
This yarn is much stronger than yarn composed of cotton 
alone, and also much whiter and more glossy ; while it is 
eqally capable of being spun m the ordinary cotton-spinning 
machinery. 

" I also manufacture yarns composed, in like manner, 
partly of hemp fibre or of jute, or of phormium tenax, or 
of other like vegetable fibre (china grass excepted), pre- 
pared and cut into short lengths as aforesaid, and partly of 
cotton ; which yarns each possess the same properties (more 
or less) as the flax-cotton yarn. 

" I manufacture also a yarn which I call ' flax-wool yam,* 
composed partly of flax prepared and cut into short lengths 
as aforesaid, or of any other like vegetable fibre (cotton 
and china grass excepted), and partly of wool, or of that 
description of it called ' tschudy,' or partly of fur or hair, 
or partly of any two or more of the said materials ; which 



FIERI LI A. 33 

yarn is stronger than any yarn composed of wool alone. 
Some wools also, which are too short to be spun by them- 
selves, may, by being mixed with flax fibre cut into short 
lengths, form a material very suitable for spinning. 

" I manufacture also a yarn composed partly of flax or 
other like vegetable fibre (china grass excepted), prepared 
and cut into short lengths, as aforesaid, and partly of waste 
silk, that is, silk of the short lengths in which it exists be. 
fore reeling, oi- silk rags cut into short lengths and carded- 

" Lastly, flax felts, of a firmness and softness equal to 
the best felts composed wholly of wool, and superior to 
them in point of durability, are also produced by a mixture 
of flax fibre, prepared and cut into short lengths as afore- 
said, with wool, fur, hair, or any other feltable material. 

" And I declare that what I claim as secured to me by 
the said letters patent is as follows : — 

" First. I claim the method of bleaching by double de- 
composition, before described, whereby the various bleach- 
ing agents and compounds used may be recovered and 
economised. 

" Second. I claim the method of bleaching by the com- 
bined action of chlorides or carbonates or chromates, or 
any other bleaching agent, with fumes of sulphur, as before 
described. 

" Third. I claim the preparing of flax and hemp, and 
of all vegetable fibre capable of being spun or felted, from 
whatever description of plants obtainable, by steeping the 
plant from which the fibre is derived, while in the state of 
straw, stem, leaf, or fibre, first in a solution of caustic soda, 
or other solution of like properties, and then in a bath of 
dilute sulphuric or other acid, as before exemplified and 
described. 

2* 



34 FIBRILIA. 

" Fourth. I claim the preparing of the said vegetable 
fibre for spinning in cotton and silk machinery, and for 
being confined with cotton, wool, raw silk, or other mate- 
rials of short staple, by firmly steeping the same in a so- 
lution of caustic soda, or other solution of Hke properties ; 
secondly, steeping them in a bath of dilute sulphuric or 
other suitable acid, or exposing them to the fumes of 
sulphur ; thirdly, saturating them with a solution of bicar- 
bonate of soda, or any other like agent, and then decom- 
posing such salt, however such decomposition may be 
effected ; and, fourthly, cutting them up into short lengths, — 
all as before exemplified and desci'ibed. 

" Fifth. I claim the employment generally, in the pre- 
paration of flax, hemp, and other sorts of vegetable fibre, 
of the mode of splitting by gaseous expansion, as before 
described, whether the fibre is long or short, and whatever 
may be the purpose to which the same is to be applied. 

*' Sixth. I claim the manufacture of yarns and felts 
from a combination of flax, or hke vegetable fibre (cliina 
grass excepted), prepared and mixed, as aforesaid, with 
cotton, wool, tschudy, silk waste, fur, and hair, all or any 
of them, as before exemplified and described." 

Mr. Claussen's announcement to the public was received 
everywhere with great satisfaction, as the growing wants 
of the world for cotton goods were known to be far beyond 
any possible supply within the comprehension and expe- 
rience of agriculturalists. The American Minister, who 
st home was a leading manufacturer of cotton, became 
much interested in the subject ; and, from specimens of the 
product sent to America, but little doubt existed that the 
long-looked-for and much-desired substitute for cotton was 
at hand. 



¥IBRILIA. 35 

The Legislature of Massachusetts was then in session, 
and specimens of the new article were passed round to 
members, who took much interest in the invention ; and 
the subject was formally brought before the House by the 
author, then a member, according to the following order, 
the late chief executive officer of the State being sj^eaker : 

House of Representatives, Feb. 24, 1851. 
Ordered^ — That the Committee on Agriculture collect 
and report to this Legislature such information as they can 
procure concerning the culture and growth of flax, and its 
probable substitution for cotton in the manufacture of cheap 
fabrics. 

Sent up for concurrence. Lewis Josselyn, Clerk, 

In Senate, Feb. 25, 1851. 
Concurred. C. L. Knapp, Cleric. 

In pursuance, the author was requested by the Com- 
mittee on Agriculture to prepare a report on the subject, 
which was submitted in the following form : — 

Commonwealth op Massachusetts. 

The Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, to whom 
was referred the Order " to collect such information as 
could be procured concerning the culture and growth of 
flax, and its probable substitution for cotton in the manu- 
facture of cheap fabrics," would report the accompanying 
papers, as containing their views on the subject. 

Luke Wellington, Chairman. 

" House of Representatives, Boston, April 15, 1851. 
" To the Committee on Agricidture : 

" Gentlemen, — Agreeably to your request, I herewith 
transmit such information as I have been able to obtain, in 
relation to the culture and growth of flax in this country, 
and to its probable substitution for cotton, to a certain ex- 
tent, in the manufacture of cheap fabrics. 



36 ^ FIBRILIA. 

" For the facts I now present to yon, I am indebted to 
various historical and statistical authorities ; to much in- 
cidental though reliable data, which has not hitherto been 
published ; to the practical experience of many kind and 
scientific friends of agricultural progress ; and to the 
deeply interesting experiments, in England, by the Cheva- 
lier Claussen himself, who may appropriately be termed 
the operative pioneer in the preparation of flax cotton. 

" The introduction of flax into America seems to have 
been coeval with the earliest settlement of the country. 
The plant itself appears to have been originally a native 
of the East ; although it is probably indigenous, in some of 
its varieties, in other parts of the earth. There are no 
records or traditions upon which to depend, with certainty, 
for a knowledge of the date when its properties were first 
revealed, and its fibrous threads practically applied to the 
construction of textile fabrics. The Egyptians, it is thought, 
were foremost in its adaptation to the manufacture of cloth ; 
but the precise period, at which its employment for that 
purpose commenced, is lost in the abyss of by-gone ages. 
The culture of flax, however, for various purposes, has 
been extensively pursued in most of the European and 
Asiatic countries, as well as in the north of Africa, from 
the remotest point of time that can be reached by the light 
of history. The medical virtues of its seeds, and the value 
of the oils expressed therefrom, especially as agents in 
the art of painting, were probably knoAvn anterior to the 
fabrication of drapery from its fibres. But the use of the 
plant for the latter purpose can be traced to the earliest 
annals of the Egyptians, who enveloped their mummies in 
vestments of this material, and who continue to manufac- 
ture it in large quantities, and to wear it almost univer- 
sally, to this day. From them, doubtless, the ancient 
Greeks and Romans derived their knowledge on the sub- 
jects ; and the latter, in turn, when they invaded Britain, 
carried thither the results of their own experience, and 
planted that germ which has since grown into an important 
branch of national industry and prosperity. 

" Although, for centuries, Great Britain has been the 



FIBRILIA. 37 

largest manufacturer of flaxen fabrics, she has been con- 
stantly dependent on her imports from other quarters for a 
great portion of her supply of the raw material, notwith- 
standing the liberal encouragement afforded by her govern- 
ment to its growth within her own dominions. Of this 
foreign stock, up to the year 1832, Russia furnished about 
two-thirds ; Prussia and the Netherlands, about one-twelfth 
each ; and France, Italy, and New South Wales, the residue. 
At the present time, the value of the flax fibre imported 
into Great Britain, for manufacturing purposes, amounts 
annually to upwards of five millions of pounds sterling. 
And the value of imported flax-seed, for crushing or sowing, 
and of oil-cake as food for cattle, is estimated at £2,600,000 
annually, viz. : of seed«for crushing, £1,800,000 ; ditto for 
sowing, £200,000 ; oil-cake, £600,000. The proportion of 
flax-seed contributed by different foreign countries towards 
this supply may be deduced from the following statement : 
of 2,759,103 bushels imported in 1831, 2,210,702 were 
brought from Russia, 179,099 from Prussia, 106,294 from 
the United States, 105,448 from Italy, 98,^47 from Egypt, 
and 53,738 from the Netherlands, &c. The increase from 
the United States, since the above date, has probably been 
very great. 

" It would appear then, that, while Great Britain has been 
the greatest consumer, Russia has been by far the greatest 
producer of that article for the English markets. Of this 
fact the British government have long been aware, and have 
resorted to every expedient, by a system of bounties, pre- 
miums, &c., with a view of meeting, in a comparatively 
larger measure, the home demand. This demand, horwever, 
annually increases, greatly surpassing all the additional 
contributions of home-grown flax yet obtained through the 
efforts of government. The causes which have hitherto 
aff'ected thus unfavorably these attempts to encourage a 
more general culture of flax in Great Britain are chiefly 
these : First, a want of suitable apparatus for preparing it for 
use ; and, second, a prejudice which has always prevailed in 
regard to its supposed injury to the soil. Both of these 
reasons, undoubtedly, are now in course of removal ; for 



38 FIBRILIA. 

the new light lately thrown on the subject of adapting the 
fibre to mannfacturing purposes, by means already in use, 
or which may readily be contrived, will dissolve the first 
objection ; and the second must soon be overcome by a 
diffusion of facts relating to the management of the crops. 

" Within the last twenty years, the attention of large 
portions of the American people has been more earnestly 
directed than at former periods to the raising of flax ; but, 
for the most part, the seed has been the exclusive object. 
The two reasons, existing or imagined, in Great Britain, 
against the cultivation of flax, are to a certain extent ap- 
plicable to the United States. But, if our necessities had 
been like hers, involving our manufacturing interests, and 
we were alike indebted to foreign sources for the supply of 
our wants, it is quite certain that the ingenuity of our 
countrymen would have seasonably provided all requisite 
means for preparing the fibre for the spindle and the loom. 
And when it is considered that flax may be raised as easily 
and profusely as any other crop, and that, with due care, 
the refuse may be converted into compost, to be consumed 
on the land, it becomes evident that its cultivation must 
prove extremely profitable, — the soil being enriched there- 
by, rather than impoverished. 

" But the extraordinary discoveries recently made, where- 
by it is claimed that the fibrous texture of the plant -may 
be brought into a condition as suitable for the manufactu- 
rer's use, in all respects, as cotton, must soon engage the 
most active solicitude of political economists throughout 
the world. The landholders and agriculturists of both 
Europe and America will shortly be apprised of the im- 
mense importance of the subject, and will be stimulated to 
renewed zeal in prosecuting the flax culture. It is not for 
a moment to be doubted that all needful facilities for fitting 
the fibrous substance for market, so far as mechanical ap- 
pliances may be concerned, will be duly provided by skilful 
and enterprising artisans. Indeed, the late experiments in 
the premises have been watched through every stage of 
their progress, and their truly wonderful results regarded 
with intense interest, by men of science in both hemispheres. 



FIBRILIA. 39 

" The flax crop in the United States is of much greater 
magnitude than is apparent from mere superficial observa- 
tion. It is somewhat difficult to ascertain, exactly, its 
aggregate quantity and value; the returns being made, 
mostly, in connection with the hemp crop. To a great 
extent its cultivation is confined to the Western States, 
where scarcely any portion of the plant is deemed of use, 
except the seed for exportation. According to the Patent 
Office Report, 100,000 bushels of flax-seed were raised in 
a single county in Ohio, last season, which produced to the 
growers the sum of $65,000 ; but nine-tenths of the fibrous 
substance w^ere throw^n away as worthless, which, had it 
been saved and properly prepai-ed, would have commanded 
in the city of New York a further sum of $150,000. In 
1849, it is affirmed that in the State of New York not less 
than 46,000 acres of land were sown in flax ; but what 
proportion, if any, of its fibre was preserved is unknown. 
Other instances, illustrating the vast product of seed, and 
the great waste of fibre, in our country, might be adduced ; 
but the foregoing facts are sufficient to indicate the import- 
ance of investigating and improving our agricultural re- 
sources, and of promoting the development of those 
which may be made available in the advancement of our 
national interests. The fact that flax can be raised in 
every climate, and in almost every quality of soil adapted 
to the growth of the ordinary grains, renders the subject of 
its culture a question of momentous concern to the world 
at large, but especially so to every country or state which 
has no exclusive agricultural staple of its own. 

" The adaptation of every section of the United States, 
north as well as south and west, to the successful pro- 
secution of the business of raising flax, will not be doubted. 
Not so with cotton ; and if, as is asserted, the former may 
be as easily, expeditiously, and economically converted into 
the form of cloth as the latter, it is palpable that in those 
portions of the Union where cotton cannot grow a very 
deep interest must be felt in the culture of its anticipated 
substitute. 

" The first attempts to prep-^re flax so as to resemble 



40 FIBRI.LIA. 

cotton in appearance and texture were made in Sweden 
upwards of one hundred years ago. We find, in the 
Swedish Transactions for the year 1747, a description 
of the method and agencies emj^loyed for the purpose. 
Boihng small quantities of the plant in a mixture of sea- 
water, ashes, and lime ; subsequent rinsing in sea-water ; 
rubbing with the hands ; repeated washing with soap ; ex- 
posure to be bleached ; additional washing ; alternate beat- 
ing and rinsing ; then drying, working, carding, and press- 
ing, — constitute the tedious process there described. It is 
true, the results of these protracted and laborious operations 
were similar to those produced by the experiments of our 
own day : but they were the fruits of chemical and me- 
chanical influences combined, requiring the aid of a pro- 
digious amount of manual toil ; while the modern improve- 
ment is effected almost exclusively by chemical means. 

" The new process by which " flax-cotton," as it is called, 
can be prepared for the manufacturer, is thus described by 
the inventor, Chevalier Claussen : — 

" ' The principle of the invention by which flax is adapted 
for spinning upon cotton, wool, and silk, independent of 
flax machinery, consists in destroying the cylindrical or 
tubular character of the fibre, by means of carbonic or 
other gas, — the action of which splits the tubes into a num- 
ber of ribbon-like filaments, solid in character and of a 
gravity less than cotton, the upper and under surfaces 
of which are segments of circles, and the sides of which 
are ragged and serrated. In order to explain the nature 
of the process by which this change is effected, it is neces- 
sary first to explain the structure of the flax-plant. The 
stem of the plant consists of three parts : the shove or 
wood ; the pure fibre ; and the gum resin, or glutinous 
matter which causes the fibres to adhere together. In the 
preparation of the plant for any purpose of fine manufac- 
ture, it is necessary first to separate from the pure fibre 
both the woody part and the glutinous substance. The 
former of these may be removed by mechanical means, 
previously referred to, almost as simple as those employed 
in the threshing of wheat. In order, however, to remove 



FIBRILIA. 41 

the glutinous substance from the fibre, recourse must be 
had either to the fermentation produced in the steeping 
process, or to some other chemical agent. The present 
system of steeping in water, whether cold or hot, is, how- 
ever, ineffectual for the complete removal of the glutinous 
substance adhering to the fibres, a large percentage of 
which is insoluble in water. The first process, therefore, 
which it is necessary to adopt in the preparation of flax- 
cotton, is to obtain a perfect and complete disintegration of 
the fibres from each other, by the entire removal of the 
substance which binds them together. 

" ' This is efi^ected by boiling the flax for about three 
hours, either in the state in which it comes from the field, 
or in a partially cleaned condition, in water containing 
about one-half per cent of common soda. After under- 
going this process, the flax is placed in water slightly 
acidulated with sulphuric acid; the proportions of acid 
used being 1 to 500 of water. Any objections urged 
against the employment of such substances, even in the 
small proportions above stated, are at once met by the fact, 
that the soda present in the straw, after the first process, 
neutralizes the whole of the acid, aud forms a neutral salt, 
known as sulphate of soda. This process, producing, as it 
does, a complete separation of the integral fibres from each 
other, is equally adapted for the preparation of long fibre 
for the linen, or of short fibre for the other branches of 
textile manufacture. When required to be prepared for 
linen, all that is necessary after the above process is to 
dry and scutch it in the ordinary modes.' 

" Should flax supersede cotton, there must inevitably en- 
sue a vast revolution in our relations with Great Britain ; 
and a great change, also, in the relative interests of the 
northern and southern States of our own country. A 
glance at the annually increasing value of our cotton crops, 
from the date of the first exports to England to the time 
when New England has begun to divide the market, and 
to share largely in the consumption of the material, may 
foreshow the immense reflux in the tide of trade which 



4:2 FIBKILIA. 

this expected innovation must produce. But, as the 
universal law of mutation is written on every national as 
well as social and domestic interest, the results of such 
changes should not be dreaded. 

" Time and nature are constantly exerting their recupera- 
tive energies. Nations have risen and flourished, with 
prospects of perpetual duration, quite as well founded as 
those which we indulge at this moment in regard to the 
permanency of our own political organization ; yet history, 
at this day, only tells us that they once existed, and that 
others have sprung up in their stead. Trade, and every 
species of human intercourse, continually undergo fluctua- 
tions ; but the principle of regulation is ever at hand, 
to equalize and harmonize the various conflicting interests 
which might otherwise destroy each other. We are too 
often deceived into a belief that our individual or national 
prosperity is so unchangeably established, that there re- 
mains to us no further duty than to live on in the enjoy- 
ment of present possessions. But civilized life produces 
daily new wants, to meet which new means of gratifica- 
tion must be as often devised : for the sources of support, 
both for nations and families, as well as the character of 
all the wishes and demands of mankind, whether in power 
or in poverty, differ essentially in the present age from 
those of the last ; and are perpetually varying and multi- 
plying — perhaps reforming and refining — from century to 
century, as our race presses onward in the ' march of im- 
provement.' 

" From the foregoing facts and considerations, it will be 
admitted that the culture of flax in the United States fully 
deserves that share of public attention which the subject is 
daily exciting ; for it must eventually become a highly im- 
portant item of our agricultural resources. That the plant 
can be raised abundantly in every State of the Union, 
under proper tillage, without exhausting the soil, cannot 
be doubted ; and, from recent developments, it is but 
reasonable to conclude, that, to a considerable extent, this 
material may soon be adopted as a practicable substitute 



FIBRILIA. 43 

for cotton, in the manufacture of the same class of fabrics 
as are now produced from the latter substance. 
" I have the honor to be, gentlemen. 



The experiments of Chevalier Claussen both in Europe 
and this country having failed of producing a practical re- 
sult, the attention of many others was directed to the 
subject, among whom was Colonel Jonathan Knowles, who 
obtained a patent for his theory ; and a company was 
formed in New York for making flax-cotton, which failed 
before accomplishing the desired object.* The following 
is a copy of Mr. Knowles's Patent Specification : — 

Be it known, That I, Jonathan Knowles, of Trenton, in 
the County of Mercer, and State of New Jersey, have 
invented a new and improved process of preparing flax, 
hemp, and other similar vegetable fibres, for manufacturing 
into yarn, cloth, &c., of which the following is a clear and 
exact description : — 

" I take rotted or unrotted flax, cut into the desired length 
of staple, and boil it in a weak solution of soda, or other 
alkali, until the shives will readily separate from the fibre 
by rubbing ; I then treat it with chloride of lime, and 
chloride of soda, or any other preparation of chloride which 
is its equivalent for this purpose, and with borax, common 
salt, saltpetre, Glauber salts, Epsom salts, sal ammoniac, 
alum, sulphates of zinc or copper, carbonate of ammonia, 
or any other salt the equivalent of these, for the purpose. 
The effect of thus treating these fibres is simultaneously 
to bleach and subdivide each of them into numerous fine 
filaments, which are deprived of the hardness and rigidity 
peculiar to flax and that class of fibres, and converted into 
a state very closely resembling cotton. I am aware that 
Claussen has prepared flax for spinning, &c., by first steep- 
ing or boiling it in a solution of caustic alkali ; second, 

* Mr. Knowles's Patent. 



44 FIBRILIA. 

steeping it in a very dilute acid, or exposing it to the fumes 
of sulphur, to neutralize the alkali ; third, washing it 
thoroughly in water, to divest it of acid ; fourth, steeping 
it in a solution of hydrochloride of hme or other bleaching 
salt ; fifth, steeping it in a strong solution of some salt 
whose acid will combine with the lime or' other base of 
the bleaching salt, while the base of the salt in solutions 
combines with the chlorine liberated from its former base 
to form a new bleaching salt ; sixth, steeping it in a bath 
of carbonate of soda, or the equivalent thereof; seventh, 
steeping it in a dilute acid to decompose the carbonate, and 
thus develop carbonic acid within the fibres, to split, sunder, 
separate, or resolve them into their elementary filaments ; 
and, eighth, it is then well washed in water, to free it from 
the chemicals, and then dried. 

" These operations have not been entirely successful, as 
the fibre prepared by them is deficient in strength when it 
possesses the requisite softness and fineness ; while by my 
process the fibre is left with unimpaired strength, and 
the same is reduced into a fine soft, downy state resembhng 
fine cotton, suitable for carding, spinning, and weaving on 
such machinery as is now employed for performing these 
operations on cotton and wool. 

" To apply my process, I take any quantity of flax, rotted 
or unrotted, dressed or undressed, and cut into the required 
length. I then boil it in an alkaline solution for from three 
to six hours, until the shives and fibres will readily sepa- 
rate, and afterwards wash it in water, and put it into a suit- 
able vat, tub, or vessel ; and, for every hundred pounds of 
the fibre, I pour into the vessel a quantity of clear liquor, 
sufficient to cover it, composed of water in which ten pounds 
of chloride of lime has been stirred. The fibre must be 
agitated and worked about in the hquor, so as to become 
thoroughly saturated as rapidly as possible, which will 
usually occupy from eight to ten minutes ; after which, one 
pound of borax, dissolved in water, must be poured into 
the tub, and agitated so as to mix it thoroughly with the 
fibre. As soon as the original fibres appear to be completely 
separated into the elementary filaments, which will be from 



FIBRILIA. 45 

two to ten minutes, according to circumstances (the exact 
time can only be determined by actual inspection), they 
must be at once removed from the tub, the liquor pressed 
out of them, and then they must be washed in pure water 
to separate thoroughly all adhering chemicals ; after which 
they must be dried, when they will be ready to be sub- 
mitted to the action of the picker, cards, or other suitable 
machinery, to render the mass flocculent, and to separate 
shives and other foreign matter, in the same manner that 
cotton is prepared for spinning, &c. I have tried the vari- 
ous salts above mentioned, but borax makes a better pro- 
duct than any of the others. Yet I have obtained very good 
results by using the others ; and all appear to act in the 
same manner upon the fibre, the difference being only in 
degree. I have not discovered the rationale of the salts or 
of the chlorine upon the fibre, and therefore am unable to 
give any explanation on that point ; but the result, of which 
there can be no doubt or uncertainty, shows unmistakably 
an improvement upon the process heretofore tried for cot- 
tonizing flax and other similar fibres. I have above 
described the fibre to be steeped in the chlorine solution 
before adding that of the salt, because I find the operation 
to be more rapidly performed this way than when the order 
of mixt\ire is reversed ; yet the result appears to be the 
same, otherwise than in the consumption of time, which- 
ever solution be used first. I have also mixed the saline, 
or splitting, and chlorine, or bleaching, solutions together 
in the vat, before immersing the fibre ; and the result pro- 
duced in this way is as good, but the process is accompa- 
nied by ah increased disengagement of offensive gas, which 
is objectionable. I have also prepared several successivf 
lots of fibre in the same liquor, and found the process as 
perfect in its results in the last as the first, but taking a 
little longer time for its performance. 

" I have mentioned one pound of borax and ten pounds 
of chloride of lime as the proper quantities of these chemi- 
cals, for the treatment of one hundred pounds of flax. 
I may also add that I have found a saturated solution of 
common salt, one and a half pounds of Glauber salts and 



46 FIBRILIA. 

of saltpetre, two pounds of Epsom salts, about two pounds 
of sulphate of zinc, one pound of chloride of soda ; and 
these quantities to a pound of sal ammoniac to be the proper 
relative quantities of these several substances to produce 
the corresponding effect of one of borax : but the quantity 
of every alkali used will vary according to variations in its 
own quality and that of the tlax or other fibre being ope- 
rated on. But these things must, from their nature, be left 
to the judgment of the operator. 

" I have found, that, by heating or boiling the fibre in any 
of the foregoing solutions, a much better effect is produced 
than when the solutions are used cold. The process is also 
hastened by heating ; and I find that the agitation produced 
by admitting steam for heating into the bottom of the 
vessel is beneficial. I am aware that Claussen has pro- 
posed to use in his process several of the salts I have men- 
tioned ; but I make no claim to the use of any substance in 
any process such as he describes, nor in any other in which 
the bleaching and splitting of the fibres are eflfected sepa- 
rately. 

" What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure Let- 
ters Patent for, is the method herein described of preparing 
vegetable fibre for picking, carding, spinning, and manufac- 
turing into fabrics by such machinery as is usually employed 
for performing the corresponding operations on ordinary 
cotton and wool, by first steeping or boiling it in a solution 
of alkali ; second, washing it with water ; third, steeping 
it in a solution of chlorine bleaching compound mixed with 
a solution of splitting salts, to bleach and split it simultane- 
ously ; and, lastly, washing it with water, and then drying 
it, — as herein set forth : whereby the reduction of the fibre 
to its elementary filaments is expedited, and the expense 
thereof lessened by dispensing with much of the tedious 
manipulations and treatment heretofore practised, while at 
the same time the quality of the product is improved." 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my 

name, 

J. Knowles. 



FIBRILIA. . 47 

The great value to manufacturers of the introduction of 
any new fibre that would serve as a substitute in any 
measure for cotton or wool, together with the conviction 
that such a fibre could be produced from long stapled fila- 
ments, led the author, in 1854, to commence experiments 
on flax for that purpose. > 

These experiments were persevered in, with a view of 
establishing factories for its manufacture on the Hydraulic 
Canal, at Niagara Falls. In the spring of 1857, a bale of 
linten, made from flax, was sent from Niagara Falls to East 
Greenwich, R. I., for further experiments, which were con- 
ducted at the bleachery of Mr. George W. Brown, with 
success. A very good article of fibrilia was there made, 
which was successfully used with cotton and wool in their 
respective branches of manufacture. 

Subsequently, the machinery was set up at Watertown, 
Mass. ; and an article was turned out, which was mixed 
with cotton and wool in the production of satinets, jeans, 
stockings, and fine specimens of cloth, which was used for 
calico-printing. The experiments have been perfectly 
satisfactory ; and machinery is now in process of construc- 
tion for mills in New England and the West, by Messrs. A. 
Sisson & Co., of Coventry, R. I. Mr. Stephen Randall, of 
Centerville, R. I., and Messrs. Sam'l Nicholson and Alfred 
B. Hall, had charge of the machinery at Watertown, and 
the former is. the author of some valuable improvements in 
machinery for the manufacture of flax-cotton. He has 
been an advocate of and believer in the project of making 
a practical substitute for cotton for many years, and has 
given considerable time and attention to the subject. 



48 FIBRILIA. 



MANUFACTURE OF LINEN FABRICS. 

The tedious process of manufacturing flax in long line, 
as practised by the ancients, and which, in a somewhat 
modified form, is now continued by the nations of Europe, 
has necessarily precluded its general use by the people on 
account of its high cost. It has ever been estimated as 
among the choicest productions of any country which has 
given it general use ; and its character and value has been 
tenaciously maintained amidst the conflicting innovations of 
all other fibres. The manufacturers and operatives both 
of France and England, as well as the governments they 
sustained, were exceedingly jealous of its being superseded 
by any other fibre ; and on many occasions, both by physi- 
cal force and legal enactment, showed their determination, 
at all hazards, to maintain its supremacy in the composition 
of textile fabrics. At the present time linen constitutes a 
staple manufacture in almost all European countries ; but 
more especially in France, England, Scotland, Ireland, 
Germany, Russia, Switzerland, Austria, and Flanders. In 
Great Britain, it has been prosecuted for a very long period ; 
but, until of late years, its progress has been inconsiderable, 
compared, at least, with that made in other branches of 
manufacture. The reasons for this were partly the want 
of improved machinery with which to manufacture the 
same to advantage ; the absurd restrictions that were for a 
lengthened period laid on the importation of foreign flax 
and hemp ; and partly to the rapid growth of the cotton 
manufacture. " It is only within the present century that 
machinery has been used in the production of linen cloth ; 
the first mills for the spinning of flax, according to Brande, 



FIBRILIA. 49 

having been constructed at Darlington about sixty years 
ago. In England, according to the same author, the prin- 
cipal seat is Leeds and its immediate vicinity ; and, in Lan- 
cashire, Dorset, Durham, and Salop ; in Scotland, Dundee, 
which indeed may be regarded as the chief seat of the 
British manufacture ; and, in Ireland, the province of Ulster. 
The entire value of the linen manufacture of Great Britain 
and Ireland, ten years ago, was estimated at eight milHon 
pounds sterhng, and the total number of persons employed 
in it about one hundi^ed and eighty -five thousand." 

Before the employment of machinery and water-power 
for the manufacture of hnen, and while the process was 
carried on by hand, the character of the operatives was 
very low and degraded. Hardly a sufficient sum could be 
earned from day to day, in the spinning and weaving of the 
fibre, to support life ; and this deprivation of the ordinary 
comforts of a simple existence tended to contract and sen- 
sualize the mind, already very low. Spinners and weavers 
were in the habit of combining together to suppress any 
new attempts at mechanical progress by brute force ; and, 
as early as sixteen hundred and eighty, the silk and woollen 
weavers mobbed the India House, in revenge for importa- 
tions of chintzes from Malabar. Following this, by incessant 
clamors and intimidations, they induced the government to 
exclude altogether the beautiful robes of Calicut from the 
British market. Ure says : " The sapient legislators of 
that day, intimidated, as would appear, by the East London 
mobs, enacted in 1720 an absurd sumptuary law, prohibit- 
ing the wearing of all printed calicoes whatsoever, either 
of foreign or domestic origin. This disgraceful enactment, 
worthy of the meridian of Cairo or Algiers, proved not 
only a deathblow to rising industry in this ingenious 
3 



50 FIBRILIA. 

department of the arts, but prevented tlie British ladies 
from attiring themselves in the becoming drapery of Hin- 
dostan." After an oppressive operation of ten years, this 
act was repealed by a partially enlightened set of senators, 
who were then pleased to permit what they called British 
calicoes, if made of linen warp, with merely weft of the 
hated cotton, to be printed and worn upon paying a duty 
of no less than sixpence the square yard. In this menace 
to the government, the real character and moral condition 
of the operatives was manifest; and it was not until 1774, 
a time so memorable in the history of American colonial 
oppression, that this clause for the protection of linen warp 
in cahcoes was repealed, and the pugnacious spirit of the 
operatives cooled down. Such were the movings of the 
popular mind when England was emerging from the tram- 
mels of despotism, broken by the great revolution of 1 688, 
but which, for a hundred years thereafter, held her in a 
state of siege. 

Her favorite historian would soothe the inquisitive spirit 
of the present day with the assumption that the consumma- 
tion of this revolution was perfected in the seventeenth 
century, and that subsequent generations witnessed no re- 
sistence to the estabhshed government, and that the means 
of effecting every improvement which the people require 
may be found within the constitution itself. 

This might be so, if her last revolution had been one of 
a purely political character, as assumed ; but there being a 
deeper principle still, which underlaid the strata of govern- 
ment, and which sought to control it, — namely, that of a 
provisional subsistence for the suffering masses, — it ran 
down nearly to the nineteenth century, with little diminu- 
tion. The real struggle throughout the United Kingdom 



FIBRILIA. 61 

during the eighteenth century was one between the people 
and the aristocracy for means of support. The Colonies 
had scarcely supported the expenses of that navigation 
from the mother country which sustained them ; other 
countries were diverting the profits of their commerce ; 
voyages of discovery to new worlds of fortune had lost their 
attractive power; the East India Company was looked 
upon with great jealousy ; and a Ufe at home was the most 
popular theme of conversation in the hut of the peasant, the 
room of the hand-weaver, or the mechanic, toiling at his 
bench in the metropolis. 

The water-power of the country being deficient ; the 
coal mines undeveloped, from the inability to drain them, 
as subsequently accomplished by the perfection of the 
steam engine ; the vast source of wealth in her iron mines 
laying comparatively dormant, — the spirit subsequently 
engendered in the British heart, by the constant labor in 
their development, seemed only aroused to its proper point 
in the accomplishment of these great objects. The manu- 
facture of fibrous substances, particularly the native staples 
of flax and wool, received an impulse under the general 
progress, which never was lost in the introduction of cot- 
ton. The invention of Paul in 1750, followed by Har- 
grave's jenny in 1767, and the immediate improvement 
by Arkwright in the spinning frame; by Cartwright's 
loom ; and then by Watt's improvement in steam engines, — 
caused fibrous manufactures to receive an impetus, which, 
carried down with increased velocity to the present day, 
has changed the character of the operative masses of the 
whole of Great Britain. 

France, by her statesmen, reluctantly yielded to the 
popular mind in establishing restrictions against the manu- 



62 FIBRILIA. 

facture of cotton, and in favor of a protection of flax, but 
removed them sooner than did England, even against the 
most formal protests of the manufacturing interests of 
that country. 

When the project of permitting the free manufacture 
and sale of printed cottons was brought up, it received 
the sternest opposition that could be presented to the 
government from every town possessed of a chamber of 
commerce. Deputies were chosen to present these pro* 
tests ; and they did it under much irritation, and with a 
spirit of menace, which, a few years later, by its impetu- 
osity and desperation, plunged France into that whirl 
of resistless anarchy, which, for the time being, uprooted 
the very forms of society and government, and established 
the French Revolution, in all its terrors. The deputies 
from Rouen declared to the government, " that the in- 
tended measure would throw its inhabitants into despair, 
and make a desert of the surrounding country." Those 
from Lyons, " that the news had spread terror through all 
its workshops." Tours " foresaw a commotion likely to 
convulse the body of the state." Amiens said " that the 
new law would be the grave of the manufacturing industry 
of France." And Paris declared " that her merchants 
came forward to bathe the throne with their tears upon 
that inauspicious occasion." The government persisted 
in carrying its principles into effect ; and the results were 
favorable to the prosperity of the nation. That enlightened 
policy, magnified by the experience of more than half a 
century, through the sagacious and pungent penetration of 
one of the most progressive monarchs of the age, has lately 
established a more extended system of free trade in France, 
which, no doubt, will produce a commensurate benefit 
til coming time. 



FIBRIL! A. bo 

Soon the advantage of the established system became 
apparent ; and the government in turn, through its in- 
spector general of manufactures, felicitated the jealous 
but mistaken chambers of commerce on the unmistakable 
evidences of pecuniary gain. 

He said : " Will any of you noiv deny that the fabrica- 
tion of Printed Cottons has occasioned a vast extension of 
the industry of France, by giving profitable employment 
to a great many hands in spinning, weaving, bleaching, 
and printing the colors ? Look only at the dyeing depart- 
ment, and say whether it has not done more good to 
France, in a few years, than many of your other manufac- 
tures have in a century." 

One of the prominent sources of jealousy in the intro- 
duction of cotton was, that it was not a Fre^ich production, 
while flax was a native product ; and it was urged upon 
the government that much loss would accrue to the 
country from the exportation of so large an amount of 
specie as would be necessary to meet the annual growing 
demand of a foreign product, likely to become of such mag- 
nitude as would cotton, when once successfully introduced. 

The force of this argument was entitled to respect in the 
simple estimation of restrictive national prosperity, as it 
is a well-settled point in political economy, that home pro- 
duction of the raw material, when coupled with exporta- 
tion of the manufactured product, increases the permanent 
prosperity of any state or kingdom in a high ratio. The 
Emperor Napoleon I. felt the importance of this principle 
in his domestic economy, and sought, by every means 
possible, to carry it out in his governmental poHcy, and 
early turned his attention to the cultivation and manufac- 
ture of flax within his empire, with a view of establishing 



54 FIBRILIA. 

and maintaining its supremacy over cotton ; and one of the 
liberal bids made for a successful artistic accomplishment 
was for the cottonizing of flax, so that it could be spun in 
short fibrils upon the new machinery then successfully 
adapted for cotton. The accomplishment of this object 
seems not to have been obtained in his illustrious day and 
generation, but was left to a new nation just then emerging 
from the clouds of republican gloom in another hemisphere, 
to develop for the use of mankind, at a time when seem- 
ingly no other substance could be found to supply the 
pressing demand. Russia and Austria, as well as nearly 
all Europe, partook, in some measure, of the jealousies of 
France and England in bringing forward cotton, in com- 
petition with flax ; but very little opposition, however, 
was met with, compared to that of the two countries men- 
tioned, principally for the reason of the incomparable 
amounts put in use for their manufactures. And, of late 
years, the great demand for fibres for manufacture, beyond 
the possible supply of cotton, has excited an increased in- 
terest on the subject of the growth of flax and hemp, and 
all like substances from which it might be possible to create 
a substitute for cotton. 

Italy has ever given much attention to the manufacture 
of flax, and some of the finest fabrics have been made 
within her shops. Probably no country in Europe would 
have derived greater advantage from its protection and use 
than she, had not the political disti'actions of this unhappy 
land kept the energies of her people trammelled. 

The present destinies of that country, under the benign 
influence and protection of a liberal and enlightened mo- 
narch, seem to be progressive ; and the American heart 
will rejoice in the union of Italy under one national banner. 



FIBRILIA. 55 



HISTORY OF THE MANUFACTURE OF FLAX 
IN AMERICA. 

The history of flax is coincident with the progress of the 
civihzed world. From the earhest records of antiquity we 
learn that its fibre was used for fabrics, and the seed for the 
value of its oil for mechanical and medicinal purposes. 
The early Egyptians used its fabrics as vestments in which 
to wrap their mummies, and early made fine linen a valu- 
able article of their commerce ; and biblical history speaks 
of it in many places as an article well known and used. 
From Egypt a knowledge of the culture and manufacture 
of flax is supposed to have been carried to Greece and Rome ; 
and the Romans in turn carried it to Britain, from whence 
in time it spread through western Europe, and America. 

Flax was one of the first cultivated products of New 
England, after the arrival of the Pilgrims at Plymouth. 

The necessities for clothing, which were almost wholly 
supplied from native flax and wool, led the first settlers to 
cultivate the plant with much care and success. 

The process, however, both of raising and manufactur- 
ing the fibre, was the same as used by the ancients ; and, in 
those early days of the colony, the supply was governed by 
the wants of each individual family, who, as a general 
thing, raised and manufactured what they needed within 
the limits of their own farms and cottages. 

Settlements were early made at Dover, and at Exeter, 
New Hampshire, and Haverhill on the banks of the Merri- 
mac, the inhabitants of which paid great attention to the 
cultivation of flax. From these frontier towns in New 
Hampshire, settlements ran back into the interior ; and the 



56 FIBRILIA. 

character and progress of these were about the sanie. One 
continued struggle with adversity and suffering marked 
their course. 

The character of the pioneers was as diversified in talent 
and cultivation as were the causes which sent them there, 
and the difficulties which they had to encounter. 

One nucleus would combine one religious class and 
creed, while its neighbor would form a different. 

Quakerism and Episcopalianism would be the antagonistic 
principle in one place, while Puritanism and political do- 
mination would produce the same effect in another. At 
the head waters of the Saco, deeply imbedded in the recess 
of fifty mountain peaks, might be found a follower of 
Cronawell, who had buried himself among the Indians, to 
escape the vigilance of the pursuing tenacity of Charles 11., 
and from whose influence would spring a settlement after- 
wards important in the history of the country. Another 
distinctive element might be found on the banks of the 
Merrimac, not at all connected with local, religious, or 
political dissension, but which would show the strange 
exceptions from a total exemption from Indian atrocities, 
and by a most progressive advancement in rehgious teach- 
ings, agricultural development, and mechanical progress. 

The arrival of the Scotch-Irish in 1718, from London- 
derry, in Ireland, formed a new era in the history of New 
Hampshire. They introduced the hand-cards, the foot- 
wheel, and the loom, and were first to cultivate the potato ; 
and also laid the foundation for an extensive cultivation of 
flax, and the manufacture of linen. They were a very 
peculiar people ; and the result of a diffusion of their blood 
and principles among the citizens of New England has 
been most fortunate in the history of their offspring. Most 



FIBRILIA. 67 

of the heads of families were in the prime of life. Ad- 
venturous, persevering, and robust, they feared neither 
savage nor beast. The experience they had had at home 
had fitted them in a wonderful manner for the toils and 
persecutions they would be subject to in the new land of 
their adoption. As they were Irish, and Presbyterians, a 
broad predjudice arose against them from the enlightened 
congregations of Boston and Worcester, where they first 
tarried ; and they were obliged to flee from those places, and 
seek refuge in less populous ones. Sixteen of these fami- 
lies attempted a settlement on Casco Bay ; but, finding no 
tract of land which was satisfactory, they returned to Bos- 
ton, and directed their course westward, up the Merrimac 
River, to the spot where Haverhill now stands. From this 
place, hearing of a fine tract of land, about fifteen miles 
distant, which was called Nutfield, they solicited a grant 
of the same from Massachusetts. The settlement was 
commenced on the eleventh of April, 1719 ; and an address 
was made by their pastor, the Rev. Mr. McGregor, who 
took his position under a large oak, on the east side of 
Benson Pond. The settlements were made promiscuously 
through various parts of the town, with but little^egularity ; 
giving crooked roads and ways, which the expenditure of 
considerable sums of money has not entirely remedied up 
to the present day. It is a singular fact, that, though their 
sufferings from religious persecutions, war, and famine, 
were so great in the Londonderry of the old world, the 
experience of the new was directly the reverse. Their 
religious persecutions seemed to cease from their removal 
to Nutfield ; while this town seemed singularly exempt 
from Indian depredations. The cause for this exception in 
Indian hostility might be accounted for from the fact that 



58 FIJ311ILIA. 

they had obtained an acknowledged Indian title to their 
township ; although it has been attributed to an influence 
exerted by their pastor, the Rev. Mr. McGregor, over the 
Marquis de Vandreuil, the French Governor of Canada, 
who had been a classmate with him at college, and who 
was supposed to have controlled the Indians. It was soon 
ascertained that the settlement was beyond the jurisdiction 
of Massachusetts ; and therefore an act of incorporation 
was asked and obtained from the General Court of New 
Hampshire, then sitting at Portsmouth, at the mouth of 
Piscataqua River. Many interesting histories have been 
written concerning the settlers of Londonderry, among 
which there is a sketch of their character and experience, 
by Parton, in the " Life of Horace Greely." He 



"About the year 1612, when James I. was king, there 
was a rebellion of the Catholics, in the north of Ireland. 
Upon its suppression, Ulster, embracing the six northern 
counties, and containing half a million acres of land, fell to 
the king, by the attainder of the rebels. Under royal en- 
couragement and furtherance, a company was foi-med in 
London, for the purpose of planting colonies in that fertile 
province, ^vhich lay waste from the ravages of the recent 
war. 

" The land was divided into shares, the largest of which 
did not exceed two thousand acres. Colonists were in- 
vited over from England and Scotland. 

" The natives were expelled from their fastnesses in the 
hills, and forced to settle upon the plains. 

" Some efforts, it appears, were made to teach them arts 
and agriculture. Robbery and assassination were punished. 
And thus, by the infusion of new blcod, and the partial 
improvement of the ancient race, Ulster, which had been 
the most savage and turbulent of the Irish provinces, 
became, and remains to this day, the best cultivated, the 
richest, and the most civilized. 



FIHRILIA. 69 

" One of the six counties was Londonderry, the capital 
of which, called by the same name, had been sacked and 
razed during the rebellion. The city was now rebuilt by 
a company of adventurers from London ; and the county 
was settled by a colony from Argyleshire, in Scotland, who 
were thenceforth called Scotch-Irish. 

" Of what stuff the Scotch colonists were niade, their 
after history amply and gloriously shoAvs. The colony took 
root and flourished in Londonderry. In 1689, the year of 
the immortal siege, the city was an important fortified town 
of twenty-seven thousand inhabitants ; and the county was 
proportionately populous and productive. William of 
Orange had reached the British throne. James the 
Second, returning from France, had landed in Ireland, and 
was making effort to recover his lost inheritance. The 
Irish Catholics were still loyal to him, and hastened to rally 
round his banner. But Ulster was Protestant and Pres- 
byterian : the city of Londonderry was Ulster's strong- 
hold, and it was the chief impediment in the way of James's 
proposed descent upon Scotland. 

" With what resolution and daring the people of London- 
derry, during the ever-memorable siege of that city, fought 
and endured for Protestantism and freedom, the world well 
knows. For seven months they held out against a besieg- 
ing army, so numerous that its slain numbered nine 
thousand. The besieged lost three thousand men. To 
such extremities were they reduced, that, among the market 
quotations of the times, we find items hke these : A 
quarter of a dog, five shillings and sixpence ; a dog's 
head, two-and-sixpence ; horse-flesh, one-and-sixpence per 
pound ; horse-blood, one shilling per quart ; a cat, four- 
and-sixpence ; a rat, one shilling ; a mouse, sixpence. 
When all the food that remained in the city was nine half- 
starved horses, and a pint of meal per man, the people were 
still resolute. At the very last extremity, they were 
relieved by a provision fleet ; and the army of James retired 
in despair. On the settlement of the kingdom, under 
William and Mary, the Presbyterians of Londonderry did 
not find themselves in the enjoyment of the freedom to 



60 FIBRIIIA. 

which they conceived themselves entitled. They were dis- 
senters from the established church. 

"Their pastors were not recognized by the law as 
clergymen, nor their places of worship as churches. 

" Tithes were exacted for the support of the Episcopal 
clergy. They were not proprietors of the soil, but held 
their lands as tenants of the ground. They were hated 
alike and equally by the Irish Catholics and the English 
Episcopalians. When therefore, in 1617, a son of one of 
the leading clergymen returned from New England with 
glowing accounts of that ' plantation,' a furore of emigra- 
tion arose in the town and county of Londonderry ; and 
portions of four Presbyterian congregations, with their four 
pastors, united in a scheme for a simultaneous removal 
across the seas. 

" One of the clergymen was first dispatched to Boston to 
make needful inquiries and arrangements. He was the 
bearer of an address to His Excellency the Right Hono- 
rable Colonel Samuel Smith, ' Governor of New Eng- 
land,' which assures his excellency of ' our sincere and 
hearty inclination to transport ourselves to that very excel- 
lent and renowned plantation, upon our obtaining from his 
excellency suitable encouragement.' To this address, the 
original of which still exists, two hundred and seven names 
w^ere appended, and all but seven in the handwriting of 
the individuals signing, — a fact which proves the supe- 
riority of the emigrants to the majority of their country- 
men, both in position and intelhgenee. One of the sub- 
scribers was a baronet, nine were clergymen, and three 
others were graduates of the University of Edinburgh. 

"On the fourth of August, 1718, the advance party of 
Scotch-Irish emigrants arrived in five ships at Boston. 
They selected for their permanent abode a tract twelve 
miles square, called Nutfield, which now embraces the 
townships of Londonderry, Derry, and Windham, in Eock- 
ingham County, New Hampshire. 

" The land was a free gift from the king, in consideration 
of the services rendered his throne by the people of Lon- 
donderry in the defence of their city. 



FIBRILIA. 61 

" To each settler was assigned a farm of one hundred 
and twenty acres, a house-lot, and an out-lot of sixty acres. 
The lands of the men who had personally served during 
the siege were exempted from taxation, and were known 
down to the period of the revolution as the ' exempt 
farms.' The settlement of Londonderry attracted new 
emigrants, and it soon became one of the most prosperous 
and famous in the colony. 

" It was there that linen, as a matter of commerce, was 
first made in New England. 

" The English colonists at that day appear to have been 
unacquainted with the culture of the potato ; and the fa- 
miliar story of the Andover farmer, who mistook the balls 
which grew on the potato-vine for the genuine fruit of the 
plant, is mentioned by a highly respectable historian of 
New Hampshire as a ' well-authenticated fact.' 

" These Scotch-Irish of Londonderry were a very pecu- 
liar people. They were Scotch-Irish in character and in 
name, — of Irish vivacity, generosity, and daring ; Scotch in 
frugality, industry, and resolution ; a race in whose com- 
position nature seems for once to have kindly blended the 
qualities that render men interesting with those that ren- 
der them prosperous. Their habits and their minds were 
simple. They lived for many years after the settlement 
began to thrive upon the fish which they caught at the falls 
of Amoskeag ; upon game ; and upon such products of the 
soil as beans, potatoes, samp, and barley. It is only since 
the year 1800 that tea and coffee, those ridiculous and 
effeminate drinks, came to any thing like general use among 
them. 

" It was not until some time after the revolution that a 
chaise was seen in Londonderry ; and even then it excited 
great wonder, and was deemed an unjustifiable extrava- 
gance. Shoes, we are told, were little worn in the sum- 
mer, except on Sundays and holidays ; and then they 
were carried in the hand to within a short distance of the 
churchy where they were put on. 

" There was little buying and selling among them, but 
much borrowing and lending. 



62 FIBRILIA. 

" ' If a neighbor killed a calf,' says one writer, ' no part 
of it was sold, but it was distributed among relatives and 
friends ; the poor widow always having a piece ; and the 
minister, if he did not get the shoulder, got a portion as 
good.' The women were robust ; worked on the farms in 
the busy seasons, reaping, mowing, and even ploughing on 
occasion ; and the hum of the spinning-wheel was heard 
in every house. An athletic, active, indomitable, prolific, 
long-lived race. For a couple to have a dozen children, 
and for all the twelve to reach maturity, to marry, to have 
large families, and die at a good old age, seems to have been 
no uncommon case among the original Londonderrians. 

" This people were among the first to resist British op- 
pression, and catch the spirit of the revolution ; and there 
were but few tories among them. They contributed 
largely, both in money for expenses, and soldiers for the 
army ; the town giving a bounty of thirty pounds for every 
man who enlisted for three years. Stark, the hero of Ben- 
nington, was one of them. 

" With regard to the hnen manufacture, it may be men- 
tioned, as a proof of the thrift and skill of the Scotch-Irish 
settlers, that, as early as the year 1748, the linens of Lon- 
derry had so high a reputation in the colonies, that it was 
found necessary to take measures to prevent the hnens 
made in other towns from being fraudulently sold for those 
of Londonderry manufacture. A town meeting was held 
in that year for the purpose of appointing ' fit and proper 
persons to survey and inspect linens and hollands made in 
the town for sale, so that the credit of our manufactory be 
kept up, and the purchaser of our linens may not be im- 
posed upon with foreign and outlandish linens, in the name 
of ours.' 

*' Inspectors and sealers were accordingly appointed to 
examine and stamp all ' the hollands made and to be made 
in our town, whether brown, white, speckled, or checked, 
that are to be exposed for sale ; ' for which service they 
were empowered to demand from the owner of said linen 
* sixpence, old tenor, for each piece.' And all this occurred 
within thirty years from the erection of the first log hut in 



FIBRILIA. 63 

the township of Londonderry. However, the people had 
brought their spinning and weaving implements with them 
from Ireland, and their industry was not once interrupted 
by an attack of Indians." 

The improvements in the cultivation and manufacture 
of flax, which the Scotch-Irish brought to Londonderry, 
were soon adopted by many other settlers in New Eng- 
land. In Connecticut and Ehode Island, as well as in 
Massachusetts and Maine, much attention was given to its 
culture. Many families made it their principal product, 
although the seed was not at that time so valuable as now. 
In 1725, the valley of the Saco was surveyed, and attempts 
were made to remove the Indians from the territory, with- 
out success ; and many battles were fought, in which great 
losses were sustained on both sides. On the 1 6th of April 
of that year, Capt. Xovewell fought his renowned battle at 
Fryeburg with the Pequawket Indians. But it was not 
until 1762 that the town became settled. Conway, the 
adjoining town, was settled in 1764; and Albany, formerly 
Burton, in 1766, although tradition fixes the date of the 
settlement of the latter town at a much earlier period. 
These three towns were extensively cultivated for flax by 
settlers from the banks of the Merrimac, who had carried 
on the manufacture of flax for many years before their 
removal. 

Hundreds of persons, if their history were known, would 
reveal to the world full accounts of a long and detailed 
experience, for many years, throughout New England, in 
the culture and manufacture of flax; and through the 
whole of these experiences but little variation would occur 
in the management and result, one of which will be suf- 
ficient for an example. 



64 FIBRILIA. 

In 1770, there lived on the banks of the Merrimac a 
young farmer, by the name of Jeremiah Oilman, a de- 
scendant of those of that n?me who were among the first 
settlers of Exeter. He was largely engaged in the manu- 
facture of flax by hand-power, which, even at that period, 
was only used in New England. Tradition says that the 
success of this farmer over his immediate neighbors, in the 
flax business, was in consequence of the experience and 
labors of a manumitted slave in his employ, who was cele- 
brated for working flax. When the old neg- o was on his 
death-bed, and the family stood around him, he desired 
that he might be buried in the family burying-knoll, and 
that an epitaph of his own composing should be inscribed 
on his gravestone. His request was complied with, and 
the following lines were inscribed : — 

Here lies a poor old negro slave, 
Dead and silent in his grave. 
His skin was black as any vi-ax, 
And a master old hand to get out flax. 

In 1775, Colonel Oilman, with many of his neighbors, 
joined the defenders of American liberty. He was one of 
the first at Bunker Hill, and served as colonel of one of 
the New Hampshire regiments, in the war which followed 
that eventful day. 

In 1780, he left the army for a season to attend to his 
private affairs, which were sufiering for the want of some 
guiding hand ; and the continental money, with which he 
was paid off, was of very little service in rescuing his 
property from that ruin in which long neglect and want of 
money had plunged it. 

When peace was established, and the American heart 



f'rBTllLIA. 65 

become more buoyant in the hope of brighter days, he 
became inspired with the thought of bettering his condition, 
by selling out his remaining property and emigrating West, 
where he could secure a larger tract of land, upon which 
to settle his large family of twelve children, some of whom 
had already arrived at an age to commence hfe on their 
own account. His eldest son started on a tour of observa- 
tion West and South ; another East ; and the old gentleman 
himself went up to the head waters of the Merrimac, and 
crossed over, between the mountains, to those which formed 
the Saco. He was much interested in the interval lands 
on the banks of the streams forming the Saco, and subse- 
quently, with three brothers, settled in that vicinity. He 
returned home from this trip, where he was joined by his 
second son, who had prospected in Maine without sufficient 
inducements arising to locate there ; and after waiting two 
years for the return of his eldest son, who had gone South, 
and not having heard from him since he left, arrangements 
were made for commencing the settlement among the 
mountains of New Hampshire. 

A large tract of land was purchased in the township of 
Burton, now Albany, near Mt. Chocorua ; and he commenced 
a settlement there, while his brothers chose a location further 
north, on Bear-Camp River, in the township ot Tamworth. 

This territory was sixty miles from Concord, and fifty 
from Dover, through almost a dense wilderness ; and the 
first settlers endured hardships of no common order. They 
often had to go thirty or forty miles to procure corn and 
grain, which they brought on their backs, or on hand-sleds> 
from Gilmantown and Canterbury. The settlements on 
the Bear-Camp were begun by Richard Jackman, Jonathan 
Choate, David Philbric, and William Eastman ; and who 



66 FIBRILIA. 

were soon followed by the families of Nickerson, Mason, and 
Bryant ; the Gilmans ; and by Laban Allen, from Bridge- 
.water, Massachusetts. All these famihes went more or 
less into the manufacture of flax, but none so extensively 
as Colonel Oilman, who, in connection with a grist-mill, 
which he had built, arranged to spin flax by machinery and 
water-power, the first which is supposed to have been 
erected in America. (See frontispiece.) 

Colonel Oilman removed the elder portion of his family 
to the settlement during the second year, but did not give 
up the homestead entirely until the expiration of five years. 
Forests were cut down and burned, and flax was grown 
upon lands now as dense with woody growth as was the 
primitive wilderness ; and, at the present day, the orchard 
trees may be found densely mixed with the maple, the 
birch, and the pine. 

The house in which he lived still stands, and is in- 
habited ; but the old mill has long since fallen to decay, 
although the line of the canal, taken around the side of 
the mountain and the mill-pond, walled in between three 
knolls, is still visible. Many years had passed after the 
family had thus settled in the mountain glen, when the 
elder son, unannounced and unknown, returned to his 
father's house. He had traversed the West and South, and 
had escaped untold dangers and perils. He went on foot 
through North and South Carolina and Georgia, and took 
up a residence in the latter State, but was finally driven 
away by the Indians, with the loss of the product of his 
labor ; and nearly lost his life in the last single encounter 
with some thirty Indians, who followed him several days. 
Whatever the effect of his explorations might have been^ 
if his family had not already settled at Burton, they were 



FIBRILIA. 67 

not likely to produce any change then in the mind of the 
old gentleman ; and the young man quietly settled down 
with the rest of the family upon the farm. He had seen , 
the growth of cotton and tobacco, and introduced the latter 
in the settlement, which was annually raised for many 
years thereafter. He worked upon flax, and introduced 
the mixture of the cotton and flax threads in cloth, which 
formed a popular branch of their domestic product ; and 
from that period the united efforts of the family were 
joined with others in the neighborhood to make the most 
of this article as a means of income. 

There were no roads for carriages through the woods in 
those days, and transportation was upon horseback, in 
which exercise the daughters of Colonel Oilman were well 
experienced. They carried the cloth thus made to market 
upon pillions ; and it was not an uncommon thing to see 
eight or ten equestrians, daughters of the settlers, start off 
to Dover, Portsmouth, Portland, Boston, and sometimes 
Springfield, as occasion required, with the product of their 
own hands, to be sold for money, or exchanged for family 
necessaries, and cotton, with which to carry on their busi- 
ness at home. 

Bears and wolves were very plenty in the neighborhood ; 
and it was not an uncommon thing for the settlers to 
encounter these animals in an unsought combat. Some- 
times they would follow persons on horseback ; and at one 
time the youngest daughter of Colonel Oilman, who had 
been berrying some six miles up the mountain glen, was 
followed by a catamount several miles, she yielding the 
merits of the chase to the instincts of the noble horse she 
rode, which carried her safe over rocks and fallen trees, — 
outdistancing the pursuer, and arriving at home soon 



68 FIBRILIA. 

after dark. It was customary for the girls of the settle- 
ment to pull the flax, wliile the boys attended to the rot- 
ting, breaking, and swingling the same, when it was taken 
into the house in hanks, and was combed, spun, colored, and 
woven for checked goods, mixed with cotton ; and, when 
used for plain hnen, bleaching was subsituted for coloring. 
There was a cloth made from tow, which was used for the 
coarser articles for family wear, both for male and female 
apparel ; another comprehended all kinds of mixed and 
checked goods ; while still another, from the fine flax, was 
wrought into the various grades of hnen then in demand. 

The working of flax in this settlement was carried on 
with nearly as much order and precision as that of the 
present day in manufactories ; and children were then 
taught the true value of labor. The history of a day in 
Colonel Gilman's family would be very nearly that which 
would be given as the experience of many others in the 
neighborhood. In winter, the hour of rising was generally 
at three-and-a-half o'clock ; the boys making the fire, fod- 
dering the cattle, and then taking up some necessary em- 
ployment or study, and carrying it on till daylight, when 
they commenced out-door work. Sometimes the morning 
employment would be shelUng corn, or winnowing wheat 
or other grain, in the barn, by the light of the lantern ; and 
sometimes down cellar, assorting and cutting vegetables. 
At another time, a systematic course of lumbering would 
be carried on near the house, in an outbuilding, by splitting 
and shaving sliingles or clapboards. At another time, the 
morning hours would be spent in a course of studies, 
mostly in reading, spelling, and mathematics. After break- 
fast, the teams were got out, and the work of the day com- 
menced in lumbering, wood-cutting, or teaming, as the case 



FIBRILlJl. 69 

might be. At noon, an hour was given to man and beast, 
for dinner, and then they labored till dark, when the teams 
were put up, the chores were done, and the evenings were 
open to collective or individual amusement, according to 
the taste of the beneficiaries, until nine o'clock, when all 
were expected to retire. In summer, the hour of rising 
was four o'clock, when the outdoor labors were immediately 
commenced, and carried on till six o'clock, when there was 
an interval for breakfast, after which their teams were 
taken out, and worked, with the exception of intermission 
for dinner, until dark, when all were ready to partake of 
supper, and soon retire for the night. 

The dairy work was divided between the males and 
females. The latter were expected to rise at four o'clock 
in winter, and attend to household affairs till after 
breakfast, — when they commenced carding, spinning, or 
weaving, the invariable rule for the commencement of 
which was as soon as it was light enough to see the 
threads in the reed of the loom. Where a family was 
large, one of the girls was sometimes employed in reading 
to the rest ; and in that manner, together with their own 
casual opportunities for self-improvement, they acquired 
the most of what education they enjoyed. The work at 
the loom and spinning-wheel terminated at dark ; and, after 
a few domestic duties, the females were through their 
labor for the day. In the summer they rose at five o'clock ; 
and their first labor was milking the cows, which were 
then driven to pasture. The milk was then strained and 
set for cream, after which the butter was churned, — which, 
in Colonel Oilman's family, was done by water-power. 
The cheese department was left either to the mother or 
one of the eldest daughters. Both of these processes were 



70 FIBRILIA. 

completed, so far as possible, before breakfast, after which 
the M^ork of spinning and weaving was commenced. 
During the spring the younger females were expected to 
assist in planting, by dropping corn, beans, and other 
seeds, if required ; and in haying-time, in emergencies, the 
whole female household, in raking hay, before a shower. 

In the autumn, and sometimes in the early summer, 
they attended a district school, generally kept in the 
neighborhood, by one of Colonel Gilman's daughters, who 
taught all of the simple English branches, except grammar, 
which in those days was taught by itinerant teachers, 
making that an especial study. On Sunday morning the 
whole family went to church, — the women on horseback, 
and the men on foot. The mother and six daughters, 
each with a horse, saddle, and bridle, might thus be seen 
passing along the pathway through the woods, — six miles 
to the adjoining town, — to church ; the father and sons 
following after on foot, except at such times as pillions 
were used, and the women were mounted upon the horse 
behind the men. At such times, it was common for the 
men to take some weapon of defence along with them ; for 
it was not an uncommon thing for their path to be disputed 
by bears, which often sat up straight on their haunches 
before the horse, directly in the path, and would not easily 
be persuaded to move out of the way. This was particu- 
larly the case where the dam had cubs ; and many most 
desperate encounters were had with these animals. 

One of the settlers, returning from a neighboring lake 
with a string of fish, was attacked by a bear so fiercely, 
that he had to give up half his burden to escape the im- 
portunity of Bruin, who soon devoured the fish, and pur- 
sued and overtook the fisherman, and seized the balance ; 



riBRILIA. 71 

leaving him to return to his hungry children Ashless, be- 
sides having received a deep scratch across his back, from 
the claws of the bear, on his first attack. Once, a boy of 
about ten years of age, who went to turn a horse into the 
pasture, was attacked, killed, and nearly devoured by a 
bear. 

In the midst of winter, a traveller went up the glen on 
horseback, and was attacked by wolves. He abandoned the 
horse to their fury, who soon killed him ; while the traveller 
sped for his life, through the snow, on foot. 

He was overtaken near a log hut, which had been 
vacated by its pioneer tenant, and hardly was able to crawl 
up the ladder to the chamber, under the roof, when nine of 
them, fierce and hungry, had taken possession of the room 
below. He drew the ladder up after him, and was able to 
keep them at bay, from their inability to jump or climb to 
the upper floor. Here he sat, and below they sat, acting as 
sentinels upon each other for some hours, they having the 
choice of retreat, and he of endurance ; but soon the power 
of intellect rose superior to instinct, and he turned the 
tables upon them by a stratagem, which reversed the 
order of their programme. With the end of his ladder he 
made a sudden motion against the door, and shut it, en- 
closing them in the room below ; while he knocked a board 
off the roof, and escaped, leaving them, as he used to say, 
safely in pound. The next morning, with some of the 
settlers, they proceeded to the cabin, and found the wolves 
still safely enclosed, where they were soon dispatched by 
bullets from their guns. On proceeding to the spot where 
the horse was left, scarcely a remnant was found : even the 
saddle and bridle were nearly consumed. 

In the manufacture of flax, the old process of dew- 



72 FIBRILIA.. 

rotting was abandoned through an accidental discovery of 
an improved plan. A bundle of flax had accidentally 
fallen into the stream, where it laid some time, and was 
taken out in a supposed worthless condition. The young- 
est daughter of Colonel Oilman used it for experimenting, 
when it was found that the fibre was not injured, but was 
whiter and stronger than that from dew-rotted straw. 
This led to further experiments in that direction, and 
resulted in the adoption of the stream-rotting process for 
ever after. The water from this mountain stream was 
subsequently found to contain peculiar chemical qualities, 
which acted readily upon the glumien in the flax, as a sol- 
vent. For many years the hay cut in tliis valley was 
poisonous to cattle, if fed exclusively upon the same ; and 
the superstitious attributed it to Chocorua's curse,' — an 
Indian chief, who had been shot on the top of the mountain 
peak bearing his name, for the supposed murder of the 
family of one of Cromwell's adherents, Cornelius Camp- 
bell, who was obliged to flee his native land on the accession 
of Charles 11. 

The pretence for this murder on the part of the Indian 
chief was the accidental poisoning and death of his son 
by drinking poison placed in a vessel to destroy vermin. 

Chocorua, standing upon the cliff in the early morning 
(as shown by one of Cole's landscape pictures), heard the 
voice of his enemy from below, commanding him to throw 
himself into the abyss. With Indian calmness, he replied, 
" The Great Spirit gave life to Chocorua, and Chocorua 
will not throw it away at the command of the white man." 
"Then hear the Great Spirit speak in the white man's 
thunder ! " exclaimed Campbell. He fired, and the ball 
pierced the heart of Chocorua, who, before expiring, is said 



FIBRILIA. 73 

to have raised himself on his hand, and in a loud voice, 
that grew more terrific as its huskiness increased, to have 
uttered the following malediction : " A curse upon ye, 
white men ! May the Great Spirit curse ye when he 
speaks in the clouds, and his words are fire ! Chocorua 
had a son, and ye killed him while the sun looked bright. 
Lightning blast your crops ! Winds and fire destroy 
your dwellings ! The Evil Spirit breathe death upon 
your cattle"! Your grave lie in the war-path of the In- 
dian ! Panthers howl and wolves fatten over your bones ! 
Chocorua goes to the Great Spirit, — his curse stays with 
the white man ! " 

An antidote was afterwards found for this poison to cat- 
tle in the substance of meadow muck mixed with a weak 
solution of alkali ; and the town is at the present time 
considered one of the best in that region for raising neat 
stock. 

Such were some of the experiences of New England 
life in the growth and manufacture of flax, and such the 
character which battled with the adversities of a pioneer 
settlement in the production of the physical and mental 
blessings which have been bequeathed to us at the present 
day. Some of the early settlers of this region still live, 
whose youthful memories are brought forward to interest 
the inquirer into the history of pioneer life. A year since, 
the author met an old lady of that region, daughter of the 
before-named Laban Allen, who is now in her ninety- 
second year, who remembered her early experiences in 
this wild region with as much vividness as when they 
were enacted in her childhood. 



74 riBRILIA. 



CULTIVATION OF FLAX FOR MAKING 
FIBRILIA. 

(principally suggested by ENGLISH AUTHORS.) 

The flax plant may be grown in almost any climate or 
soil on the face of the globe ; although the constituent ele- 
ments of the fibre, or woody stalk, will be somewhat differ- 
ent, on account of changes in either soil or climate. The 
atmosphere furnishes nearly all the elementary principles 
of which the fibre consists ; therefore, if the woody part of 
the stalk, and the oil-cake from the seed, shall be retained 
for consumption on the farm, the product will not impo- 
verish the soil more than any other crop. 

MOST FAVORABLE CLIMATE. 

The districts where the temperature is the most equable 
will be the most suitable for the growth of flax, — where 
neither severe drought nor excessive moisture prevails. 
In the event of a long continuance of drought with a hot 
sun, when the plant has gained a height of but three or 
four inches, the leaves are unable to protect the soil from 
the sun ; and the roots, having penetrated but shghtly, are 
unable to get sufficient moisture : the plant is in great dan- 
ger of destruction. In such a case it should be watered, if 
possible. Flax will bear a good deal of moisture, and 
thrive best in moist climates. 

SOIL. 

The best soil for flax is a sound, dry, deep loam, with a 
clay subsoil. The land should be properly drained ; for, 
when it is saturated with either underground or surface 



FIBRILIA. 75 

water, good flax cannot thrive. Yet the soil ought to be 
able to retain a moderate moisture. Light clays and allu- 
vial soils will also do well under proper management ; but 
light sandy or gravelly soil, and very strong undrained 
clay, should be avoided. Flax should not follow crops 
where much manuring has been done, as it produces many 
weeds, and the flax fibre grows thin and poor upon the 
stalk. New grounds produce a strong crop of flax. 

PREPARATION OF GROUND. 

The land should be well drained ; the weeds carefully 
taken from it, and the soil left in a fine, deep, clean state. 
Then the roots can penetrate into the ground ; and they 
will oftentimes, to an extent equal to half the length of 
the stem above ground. Plough in the autumn, immedia- 
tely after harvest, across the ridges ; leave the land in this 
state till early spring ; then plough again ; then give it a 
thorough harrowing, leaving it in a fine pulverized state, 
taking care to remove stones and sods. Rolling is then 
advisable. The surface should be left as smooth as possi- 
ble, as the crop will then grow more evenly. If the soil 
is very stiff, one more ploughing than above-named may 
be resorted to. 

SEED AND SOWING. 

Sow seed that is plump, shining, and heavy, and of the 
best brands. Sift it clear of seeds of weeds ; for by doing 
this a great amount of labor in after-weeding will be 
avoided. About two bushels of seed is a fair average to 
sow per acre. It is better to sow too thick than too thin. 
The ground being well prepared, sow the seed, giving the 
ground as equable a supply as possible. After sowing, 
cover it with a seed-harrow, going twice over it, — once 



76 FIBSILIA. 

up and down, and once crosswise ; this spreads it more 
equally, and avoids the small drills made by the teeth of 
the harrow. Finish with the roller, which covers the seed 
about an inch ; thus giving it a proper depth, and insuring 
an even germination. Sow nothing with the flax. 

The earlier the seed is sown, the more slow and steady 
the growth, which is desirable, as the fibre is in conse- 
quence finer. Later in the season, vegetation is more 
rapid : the fibre grows quicker, and has not time to become 
fine and mellow. 

CARE WHILE GROWING. 

Weeds must be carefully pulled when the plant is about 
three inches high. If there is an appearance of a settled 
drought, the weeding should be deferred till a later day, as 
by weeding then the tender roots of the plant would be 
exposed. To get good seed for future sowing, allow some 
to fully ripen for the purpose. 

MATURITY OF STALK. 

The fibre is in the best state before the seed is quite 
ripe. If it remains longer uncut, the fibre is coarser. The 
best time for cuttmg. is as the seeds begin to change their 
color from a green to a pale brown color, and the stalk be- 
comes yellow for nearly or quite two-thirds of its height 
from the ground, and to lose its leaves. If the fibre is 
cut too early, it is flimsy ; if too late, coarse. So long 
as the seed is in the husk it continues to ripen. Cutting 
should only be done in dry weather. 

MANNER OF GATHERING. 

When properly ripened in the field, the flax may be cut 
with the ordinary scythe or mowing-machine ; and should 



FIBRILIA. 



77 



ill all respects be cured the same as hay. It should be 
placed in the barn, or in stacks in the field, as soon as dry 
enough after cutting ; and should not be exposed to con- 
stant dews or rain. It may be threshed by an ordinary 
threshing-macliine, as the tangling of the straw is no in- 
jury to the fibre for making fibrilia. And, when the seed 
is thus removed, it may be broken on the farm by the 
brake, needing less power than a threshing-machine, or it 
may be hauled like hay to designated depots in the neigh- 
borhood, where a brake may be permanently worked ; and 
the tow, thus cleaned and scutched, may be sent to market, 
to be cottonized at the factories where used. 

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 

By the foregoing method, the roots of the flax are left in 
the ground, and act as a fertilizer. The shoves or woody 
portion of the stalk, after breaking, if used unrotted, and 
before the albuminous properties are suffered to ferment, 
make the best of feed for stock on the farm ; and this, in un- 
rotted straw forming three-quarters of the whole weight of 
the original straw, is an important item for the considera- 
tion of the farmer in estimating the value of his crop. 
The rotting process heretofore practised by farmers, which 
has always been so tedious a part in the culture of flax, is 
sought to be avoided. In fact, the only value that there 
can be in rotted above unrotted straw, to the purchasers 
for the manufacture of fibriUa, is in the great difference in 
weight, which is about one-half. One ton of unrotted 
straw, when fully rotted, will only weigh about ten or 
twelve hundred pounds ; the fibre being about the same. 
It will be seen then that the fjirmer can afford his unrotted 
straw for one-half the price of rotted, besides saving all the 



78 FIBRILIA. 

trouble and expense of rotting ; therefore, with this allow- 
ance, it is better for both the farmer and the manufacturer 
that the straw should not be rotted. One ton of unrotted 
straw will produce about four hundred pounds of pure 
fibrilia, and will leave about twelve hundred pounds of 
valuable food for stock. 

HISTORY OF COTTON. 

" Cotton is a vegetable down, — the produce of a plant 
growing in warm climates, and indigenous in India aiid 
America. The name of the genus is Gossypium, and there 
are many varieties. The cotton is contained in the seed- 
vessels, and adheres closely to the seeds of the plant." 

There are three great distinctions : 1st, herbaceous cotton ; 
2d, shrub cotton ; 3d, the tree cotton, — each of which has 
several varieties. The most useful is the herbaceous, 
which is cultivated in the United States, India, China, and 
many other countries. The shrub cotton grows in almost 
every country where the annual herbaceous cotton is found. 
The tree-cotton grows in India, China, Egypt, the interior 
and western coast of Africa, and in some parts of America. 
The cotton-plant, in all its varieties, requires a dry and 
sandy soil. It will grow on rocky hills where the soil is 
too poor for any other valuable crop. A marshy soil is 
wholly unfit for the plant ; and a wet season is destructive 
to the crop. The most fatal disease to which it is subject 
is the blight, produced by wetting at the roots. The plant 
flourishes the most, and produces cotton of the best quality, 
on the sea-coast, with few exceptions. The skill and energy 
applied to the cultivation of cotton, in the United States, 
has enabled this country to distance all others in providing 



Plate 7. 



FIBRESOF NATURAL COTTON 



J H.BuffoTd's LitR 313 '/Jashing-roR St.ilGStoii 



FIBRILIA.. 79 

a supply for England and other European countries. Most 
of the Southern States raise cotton as their principal crop ; 
and since the invention of the cotton-gin, by Eli Whitney,* 
have increased and multiplied its growth, till, by its im- 
portance, it has become one of the most valuable crops of 
the Southern States. 

The fibril itself, when ready for use, is but a bleached 
skeleton of what it was in the time of its growth. When 
the juices were moving, it was a cylindrical tube through 
which the fluids and gases passed, by attraction and hy- 
draulic pressure. When the fluids begin to dry up, the 
fibril begins to bleach, and the tube collapses and twists, 
coiling a great number of times in the space of an inch, 
which gives it a very uneven, serrated edge, and makes it 
rough to the touch and more difficult to spin. It is also 
very porous through the diameter of what was the tube ; 
and is open, hke a piece of lace, to the microscopical eye. 
The tube itself no longer exists ; in fact, so perfect is the 
collapse, that, by the more recent and finest microscopes, no 
division of the segments is found. The fluids which per- 
vaded the cotton fibril, in its growth, were lighter than 
those in flax ; and, in their evaporation, left less of insoluble 
or coloring matter on the tube. They also were greater 
non-conductors of both electricity and caloric than the fibrils 
of flax. The gauze-like character of the fibril is the rea- 
son of its not being so strong, or not taking and holding so 
good a color as the fibrils of flax or hemp, which are 
tubular. 

The known history of cotton is more recent than flax, 
wool, or silk ; and fabrics made from this fibre are of later 

* Eli Whitney was born at Westborough, Mass., Dec. 8, 1765, and 
died Jan. 3. 1825, aged 59. 



80 FIBRILIA. 

date than either of the others. India claims to be the 
birth-place of cotton, although it is hard to fix this fact to a 
certainty, as it is known to have existed in America from 
the earhest history or knowledge of fibrous manufactures, 
of which we have any trace, on this continent. 

The Mexicans had neither wool, hemp, nor silk ; and 
though they possessed flax they did not make it into cloth. 
Cotton cloths formed their principal article of clothing. 
The only exceptions for making cloth was from feathers, 
and the wool of rabbits and hares, and a fibrous plant called 
" maguei." 

It is to be supposed, then, that they adopted cotton, for 
their gowns, at a very early period ; and, until the researches 
of geological or other investigations shall tell us to a cer- 
tainty whether India or America is the oldest in the history 
of vegetable productions, we cannot tell to which the honor 
is due of producing the first cotton-plant. In India the 
manufacture of cotton, no doubt, flourished before the date 
of authentic history. The physical organization of the 
people was well adapted to spinning and weaving, with the 
rude implements they possessed ; and modern improve- 
ments in machinery have been unable to exceed, in fine- 
ness, the threads manufactured by this people. 

The progress of the development of the cotton manufac- 
ture, and its introduction into the western states of Europe, 
was very pecuhar. Few articles of commerce ever became 
subject to such restrictions and drawbacks as this fibre, 
which, though raised and manufactured in the East quite 
early, was only introduced into Europe at a comparative 
late period, after existing thirteen hundred years on the 
south shores of the Mediterranean. In fact, cotton was hardly 
introduced into England before the important improve- 



FIBRILIA. 81 

ments in spinning and weaving, by machinery, brought it 
forth to the world, like magic, to supersede other fibres 
then used, and to create, in the history of manufactures, one 
of the most important commercial interests that the world 
has ever known. The reason of this drawback to the in- 
troduction of cotton into Europe, Mr. Baine attributes to its 
interior growth and manufacture for so long a time, almost 
exclusively, in those populous regions lying beyond the 
Indus, which were an unknown world to the nations bor- 
dering on the Mediterranean. 

At the advent of the Christian Era, cotton was known 
and manufactured in Upper Egypt, and also in the island 
of Tylos, in the Persian Gulf ; and garments were made 
from it &r the Egyptian priesthood. The Italians and 
Spaniards first received cotton from the Arabs ; and the first 
mention of goods from this fibre, as an article of com- 
merce, is in the " Circumnavigation of the Erythroean Sea, 
by Arrian, an Egyptian Greek, who lived in the first or 
second century of the Christian Era." 

" Arab traders first brought Indian cottons to a port in 
the Red Sea, establishing a trade in calicoes, muslins, and 
other cottons, which extended to Europe, and continued till 
the full introduction of the goods through the middle ages , 
and down to the estabhshment of the East-India Company." 
" In Arabia, and the neighboring countries," according to 
Baine, " cottons and musUns came gradually into use, and 
the manufacture was spread by the commercial activity 
and enterprise of the early followers of Mahomet through- 
out the extended territories subdued by their arms." 
Omar, one of the immediate successors of Mahomet, and 
the same who was connected with the building of the Suez 
Canal, between the Mediterranean and Ked Seas, wore 
4* 



8^ riBRILIi. 

cotton garments, for it was said of him, that " he preached 
in a tattered cotton gown, torn in twelve places." In 
China, cotton was manufactured at a very early day, and 
their system of weaving colored threads was among the 
first processes of that kind of which we have any record. 
Nankeens have ever been an article of exportation by the 
Chinese, and the cotton from which they are made is said 
to be of the color of the cloth, as exported. The Tartars, 
after their conquest of China, cultivated the fibre quite 
extensively, and brought it into common use. The artisans 
in China, like those of England and France, who were en- 
gaged in the manufacture of w^ooUens and silks, resisted the 
introduction and manufacture of cotton, until the product 
was proved too valuable to be set aside, on account of the 
cheapness of the raw material, and the value of the fabrics 
made. " In the empire of Japan, in Java, Borneo, and the 
numberless islands of the Indian and Chinese Archipelagos, 
cotton is the ordinary apparel of the natives." " In the 
year 1590," says McPherson, " cotton cloth, of native ma- 
nufacture, was brought to London, from Benin, on the coast 
of Guinea." The use of cotton has always been claimed 
as best suited to the torrid zone, as it is a greater non- 
conductor of either heat or electricity than flax or wool ; 
thus checking the heat from perspiration, and holding it 
from passing through the fibres of the cloth faster than the 
fluid itself is absorbed by capillaiy attraction, leaving less 
condensation on the skin, and holding the heat in the same, 
until both elements pass off together. As early as the 
tenth century, the cotton plant was introduced into Spain, 
by the Mahometans, and was cultivated for manufactures ; 
the followers of the Prophet having the honor of establish- 
ing the manufacture of cotton at Seville, Grenada, and 



FIBRILIA. SS 

Cordova, as well as in their eastern cities of Bagdad and 
Damascus. Neither Italy nor Greece manufactured cot- 
ton till a much later period, although they were the gene- 
ral nurseries for European advancement. Though silk, 
wool, and linen were extensively manufactured in these 
states as early as the tenth century, cotton was not found 
there for four hundred years after. " The Moors, who 
were mingled with the Arabs, or who came to settle in 
Spain after the conquest," were the most expert and inge- 
nious in the manufacture of cotton, and linen, hemp, and 
silk stuffs. The Arabs devoted themselves more particu- 
larly to the manufacture of woollen cloth, and that of arms. 
These artisans prepared and spun the cotton for weaving 
the different kinds of fabrics in use, particularly of sail 
cloth, which was in great demand at Barcelona, which was 
the station of the Spanish Armadas. All kinds of goods 
were thus manufactured, and were made extensive articles 
of commerce, before the same manufactures were intro- 
duced in other parts of Europe. The Italians had but 
little intercourse with the Mahometan invaders of Spain, 
with whom they had been in contention for eight centuries, 
and claim to have drawn their knowledge of manufactures, 
as well as their supplies of the raw material of cotton, from 
Syria and Asia Minor. But it is doubtful whether cotton 
was ever manufactured in Italy, to any great extent ; and 
the transmission of the art to the French and English was 
probably through some other source. The Flemings may 
have received their knowledge of the cotton manufacture 
from Syria, during the crusades. Their talent in manufac- 
turing woollens has always been appreciated. Except when 
the cotton manufacture was borne onward by the impetuous 
tide of Mahometan conquest and colonization, its progress 



84 FIBRILIA. 

was ever slow, until the improvements in cotton machinery 
in England brought it out in full force. From 1760 to 
1800, the advance in Britain was unparalleled ; and it was 
from the improvements thus made that the United States 
received her first impetus in cotton manufactures. At the 
present time, the cotton machinery of the United States is 
unrivalled for perfection of manufacture in the whole 
world. Up to 1738, no material improvements had been 
made in cotton spinning from the Indian method of 
spinning and weaving ; and the wool-cards then in use were 
adopted for the use of cotton. A change in some respects 
had been made in the spinning-wheel and loom, correspond- 
ing in some measure to the difference in climate and physi- 
cal character of the people ; yet but little advancement was 
made in the process generally. Each family in the country 
districts had a wheel for spinning cotton, and the hours 
not appropriated to other occupations were devoted to 
this labor ; and the yarn was sent to the weaver, in 
another district. Men, women, and children were thus 
occupied to the number of over two hundred thousand, 
when Paul's spinning-frame changed the course of 
hand spinning to machine spinning, when one man 
could do the work of one hundred. Machine-spinning 
in England was early carried to great perfection ; and the 
fineness of the thread equalled the hand-spinning of 
India, of which such almost fabulous accounts are given. 
Cotton yarn has been spun in England, according to Baine, 
of three hundred and fifty hanks to the lb., each hank 
measuring eight hundred and forty yards, and the whole 
forming a thread of one hundred and sixty-seven miles in 
length. " A specimen of yarn from India, spun by hand 
in 1786, and sent to England by the East India Company, 



FIBRILIA. 85 

weighed 34^^ grains, was five yards and seven inches 
long, and consisted of one hundred and ninety -six threads, 
consequently its whole length was one thousand and 
eighteen yards and seven inches. This, with a small 
allowance for fractions, gives twenty-nine yards to a grain, 
two hundred and three thousand to a pound averdupoise 
of seven thousand grains ; that is, one hundred and fifteen 
miles, two furlongs, and sixty yards." " The print-cottons 
of India are said to come from the neighborhood of Dacca, 
extending along the banks of the Mequa, and about three 
miles inland." As a general thing, however, American 
cotton is far superior to any raised in India. England has 
outstripped every competitor in the manufacture of cotton, 
though much later in the race than Spain, Italy, the Low 
Countries, Bavaria, Saxony, Prussia, and Turkey. She 
owes much of her success, however, as does American 
manufactures, to the cotton-gin, which reduced the price of 
the raw material, and increased its culture. Water-power 
in England is so scarce that she could never have arrived 
at her present position in cotton manufactures from that 
motor. Steam has filled the cavity ; and from her coal 
mines, which yield one hundred million dollars per year, 
she supplies her motive-power, and at the same time feeds 
her operatives. Her iron mines bring in about the same 
amount per annum, which helps her very much in sup- 
porting that existence which would be sadly short in native 
product. With all this estimated wealth in coal, she has 
less than the State of Pennsylvania, which exceeds in 
amount that of England, Wales, France, Spain, Portugal, 
and the Netherlands. The honor of the inventions in cot- 
ton machinery, like all other " honors," has been closely 
contested in England. Wyatt accused Paul of stealing 



86 riBRILIA. 

his invention of a spinning frame ; and Paul, in turn, com- 
plained of Arkwright and Hargraves in the same way. 
Probably, as in other inventions, all made new discoveries 
or valuable improvements. 

In a work entitled, "Men Who Have Risen," Har- 
graves is said to have neafly lost himself in ecstacies 
when he first conceived the idea of the " Spinning Jenny." 
Suddenly he (James Hargraves) dropped upon his knees, 
and rolled on the stone floor at full length. He lay with 
his face towards the floor, and made lines and circles with 
the end of a burnt stick. He rose, and went to the fire to 
burn his stick. He took hold of his bristly hair with one 
hand, and rubbed his forehead and nose with the other and 
the blackened stick. Then he sat upon a chair, and placed 
his head between his hands, his elbows on his knees, and 
gazed intently on the floor. Then he sprang to his feet, 
and replied to some feeble questions of his wife (who had 
not risen since the day she gave birth to a little stranger), 
by a loud assurance that he had it ; and, taking her in his 
sturdy arms, in the blankets, the baby in her arms, he 
lifted her out, and held her over the black drawings on the 
floor. These he explained ; and she joined a small, hopeful, 
happy laugh with his high-toned assurance that she should 
never again toil at the spinning-wheel ; that he would 
never again " play," and have his loom standing for want 
of weft. She asked some questions, which he answered, 
after seating her in the arm-chair, by laying her spinning- 
wheel on its back, the horizontal spindle standing vertically ; 
while he made the wheel revolve, and drew a rovfng of 
cotton from the spindle into an attenuated thread. " Our 
fortune is made when that is made," he said, speaking of 
his drawings on the floor. " What will you call it ? " 



riBRILIA. 8T 

asked his wife. " Call it ? What an' we call it after 
thysen, Jenny? They called thee 'Spinning Jenny' 
afore I had thee, because thou beat every lass in Stanehill 
Moor at the wheel. What if we call it ' Spinning Jenny ' ?" ' 
It is of but little consequence who has the honor of an in- 
vention, provided it answers the great purposes of civiliza- 
tion, — feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, and elevates 
the mind of man. If more time was spent by inventors in 
perfecting their machines and discoveries, and less in 
striving to build up immortal honors, the latter would be a 
more sure result of the former. The manufactures of 
England have increased since 1641, when linen-warped 
cottons were made at Manchester to the amount of 
fifty million miles of yarn per day, which would reach two 
thousand times round the globe ; and a web of cotton 
cloth per diem, which would reach from Liverpool to New 
York. 

The export of British cotton goods (undoubtedly with 
linen warp) in 1697 was £5,915. It increased in fifty- 
four years to 1751 to £45,986; and during the following 
twelve years it increased to £200,354. It has been esti- 
mated that the whole value of cotton goods manufactured 
in Manchester, Bolton, and other places in England, at 
that time, amounted to £600,000. In 1833, the cotton 
goods exported amounted to £18,486,400, while the 
whole manufacturers' product was £34,000,000. The 
amount of raw material imported the same year, from 
various countries, according to McCulloch, of which the 
United States was the principal, was 286,292,955 lbs. In 
1750 the home consumption of cotton was only about 
1,400,000 lbs. ; and it increased in one hundred years to 
1850, to an importation principally manufactured in the 



88 riBRILIA. 

United Kingdom, to 612,235,100 lbs., while the increase 
in exportation of manufactured goods has been in nearly 
the same proportion. England is wholly dependent upon 
importations for her supply of cotton, a small proportion of 
which comes from her colonies. She is now making every 
effort to increase the supply from her Indian territo- 
ries. Her flax crop, both in the British Isles and India, 
is more valuable than the cotton ; and her full supply of 
flax and hemp for cottonizing, under the new process, may 
easily be had from her own colonial soils. 

Flax and wool, and what little of cotton that was manu- 
factured in this country before the revolution, was done 
mostly by hand-labor and machinery. 

In 1790, the first cotton-mill erected in the United States 
was at Pawtucket, R. I., by Samuel Slater, since which 
time the advancement of the business has been almost un- 
paralleled. Popular cities, towns, and villages, have sprung 
up, under the influences of the cotton manufactures, by the 
hundred. In 1807, the Globe Mills in Philadelphia were 
erected. "Up to 1812," says Mr. Baird, "there were 
thirty-three cotton factories in Rhode Island, containing 
30,663 spindles. In Massachusetts, there were twenty 
mills, with 17,371 spindles." 

" The capital invested in manufacturing establishments, in 
1815, amounted to about $60,000,000." In 1819, Mr. Kirk 
Boot, and other gentlemen from Boston, purchased the 
present site of Lowell, — then a barren district, containing 
but a few houses and inhabitants, who derived their prin- 
cipal support from fishing in the Concord and Merrimac 
rivers. The first company was organized in 1822, and 
was styled the " Merrimac Manufacturing Company," for 
the manufacture of prints and sheetings, and employed 
about two thousand hands. 



FIBRILIA. 89 

" Now, the Lowell manufactures represent about a mile 
of mills, filled with machinery, extending in a continuous 
line from Pawtucket Falls to the Merrimac River." 

Other companies were organized in rapid succession^ 
The Hamilton, in 1825 ; Appleton and Lowell, in 1828 ; 
Middlesex, Suffolk, Tremont, and Lawrence, 1830 ; Boot, 
1835 ; Massachusetts, 1839. 

These companies, together with the bleachery and ma- 
chine-shop connected therewith, had a capital of $11,- 
110,000; employ 12,320 hands, run 301,393 spindles, 9,313 
looms ; producing 1,952,791 yards of cloth per week, in- 
cluding print-goods, sheetings, shirtings, flannels, drillings, 
and about twenty-two thousand yards of broadcloth per 
week. The bleachers bleach 4,000,000 pounds, and dye 
2,000,000 yards annually. "For the year ending Nov. 
10, 1860, the Merrimac Manufacturing Company, Lowell, 
made 22,036,646 yards of cloth, and during the past year 
printed 21,292,903 yards. The kind of cloths manufac- 
tured are of the finest quality, from Nos. 25 to 40, and 
consequently do not amount to as much as the coarse fabrics, 
made in some other corporations. And the Massachusetts 
Cotton Mills, Lowell, have manufactured 30,265,284 yards 
of cotton cloth, or a web .17,190 miles in length, — more 
than two-thirds long enough to reach around the globe." 
" The population of Lowell was, in 1820, two hundred ; it is 
now swelled to 35,000 inhabitants." Other towns have 
sprung up, in the United States, almost as suddenly as 
Lowell. Waltham, Patterson, "Ware, Fall River, Taunton, 
Pawtucket, Lawrence, Adams, New Market, Matte wan, 
Norristown, Pa., and Gloston, N. J., are mentioned by 
Mr. Baird as instances of rapid growth and wealth under 
the influence of successful manufacturing estabhshments. 



90 FIBRILIA. 

He also says, that, in 1840, there were in the United States 
about 1025 cotton mills, containing about 2,112,000 spindles, 
— of which there were, in the State of Massachusetts, about 
310 cotton mills ; New Hampshire, 70 ; Vermont, 30 ; 
Rhode Island, 130; Connecticut, 120; New York, 120; 
Pennsylvania, 80 ; New Jersey, 55 ; Delaware, 17 ; Mary- 
land, 30 ; Ohio, 10 ; Virginia, 10 ; Kentucky, 10. 

" Several of these were small establishments, with not 
more than 1000 spindles ; there were also numerous small 
factories in the Western and Southern States, which are 
not included in the above statements." 

The number of spindles in operation, in 1850, had in- 
creased twenty per cent in the previous decade. 

Factory Valuation of Massachusetts, 1860. — " The Valu- 
ation Committee,'* says the ' Transcript,' " make the aggre- 
gate valuation of the factory property of Massachusetts to be 
298 cotton mills, estimated to be worth $20,964,486 ; and 
177 woollen factories, valued at $7,363,350. The in- 
crease in the spindles in the cotton-mills, since 1850, 
is 474,197. The last official returns of the product of 
these mills we have were made in 1855, — which year the 
value of the cotton goods produced was estimated to be 
$36,464,738, and the woollen goods were valued at $15,- 
124,233. The cotton used cost $10,585,174; the number 
of operatives employed was 36,588, of which 23,000 were 
females. 

" In addition to these are the linen factories, the estab- 
lishments for printing silks and caUcoes, the bleacheries, 
the paper-mills, card, boot and shoe, India rubber, and 
glass factories, — which, in the aggregate, make a vast sum 
invested in the industrial pursuits of our population. 

"In Essex County, there are 16 cotton mills, which are 



FIBRILIA. 91 

appraised at $4,743,778 ; and 28 woollen mills, appraised 
at $2,781,500. Middlesex County has 53 cotton mills, 
appraised at $6,233,223 ; and 21 woollen mills, appraised 
$l,7b7,300. Worcester County has 80 cotton mills, ap- 
praised at 82,792,763 ; and 62 woollen mills, appraised at 
$1,569,000. Hampshire County has 11 cotton mills, ap- 
praised at $749,312 ; and 12 woollen mills, appraised at 
$179,200. Hampden County has 26 cotton mills, ap- 
praised at $2,295,632 ; and 16 woollen mills, appraised at 
$134,100. Berkshire County has 21 cotton mills, ap- 
praised at $361,756 ; and 26 woollen mills, estimated at 
$535,050. Norfolk County has 28 cotton mills, appraised 
at $284,862 ; and 10 woollen mills, appraised at $351,700. 
Bristol County has 56 cotton mills, appraised at $3,254,- 
940 ; and 2 woollen factories, appraised at $25,500. Ply- 
mouth County has 7 cotton mills, appraised at $248,220. 
The other counties have no factories of cotton or wool." 

England, and other portions of Europe, have advanced 
rapidly in manufactures during the last twenty -five years ; 
and yet, with all the combined efforts of Europe, Asia, 
Africa, and America, for the production of cheap fabrics 
for ordinary wear, the supply is not one-half that the real 
necessities of mankind demand. Estimating the annual 
crop of cotton, throughout the world, at six million bales, 
and dividing the product among the naked and half-clad 
citizens, it will be easy to see that not half of them would 
then be properly clothed, and that twenty -five million bales, 
instead of six millions, would be nearer to a fair estimate 
of the annual demand. 

" The number of spindles employed in the manufacture 
of cotton," says Baird, " in various parts of the world, are 
28,985,000." These are distributed as follows: Great 



yj^ FIBRILIA. 

Britain, 17,500,000 ; France, 4,300,000 ; United States, 
2,500,000 ; Germany, 815,000 ; Russia, 700,000 ; Switz- 
erland, 650,000 ; Belgium, 420,000 ; Spain, 300,000 ; Italy, 
300,000. Of the 2,500,000 in the United States, 150,000 
are in the Southern States, and 100,000 spindles in the 
Western States." 

The general magnitude of the cotton trade may be 
estimated from the following Sata : The importation of 
raw cotton into England, in the year 1845, was 721,979,- 
953 lbs., of which 626,650,412 lbs. were from the United 
States; 42,916,332 lbs. of this was exported to other Eu- 
ropean states. 

In 1846, the value of cotton-goods manufactured in 
England, exclusive of home consumption, was £25,599,- 
826, — £1,016,146 of which was in small wares, £7,882,048 
in twist and yarn, and £16,701,632 in other descriptions of 
goods. 

The magnitude of a protective tariff must, in the 
present condition of things, to a great extent, control the 
profits on an extended manufacturing system in the United 
States. In the early history of manufactures, the changes 
of the tariff affected the prosperity of the business very 
much. 

Under this state of things, manufactures languished ; and, 
until the adoption of Mr. Baldwin's tariff, in 1824, ruin 
stared the manufacturers in the face. British goods still 
glutted the market ; but the American manufactures im- 
proved, and even increased. The changes in the tariff 
since then have caused similar fluctuations ; but the real 
progress is in the ascendant for manufactures, and it is not 
likely that they will ever again fall back to some of their 
past points of depression. Permanent and profitable mills 



riBRILIA. 93 

are now fast filling up the western valleys, and cotton is 
already shipped from the South to Massachusetts, by way 
of western lakes and canals ; and, in a few years more, the 
waters of the Niagara and the upper Mississippi will be 
turning spindles and looms for the manufacture of fabrics 
for the home consumption of the great West. 

Cotton can now be deUvered at any of the ports on Lake 
Erie much cheaper than in New England ; while the sav- 
ing in re-transportation of manufactured goods, and the 
means of living for operatives, will insure a large per cent 
in favor of the West, as the great coming manufacturing 
district of the United States. 

In the advent of new materials for the manufacture of 
textile fabrics, the whole country will feel a lively interest. 
The South, as well as the North, will be benefitted by such 
changes as may come. There are in the South many 
natural weeds which will make fibriha ; and, during the past 
season, there was grown within the corporation hmits of 
New Orleans many thousand tons of a weed which makes 
as fine a fibre as flax, and which may be cultivated, or 
gathered in its wild state, for the manufacturer, at a large 
profit, and from which millions of people now suffering 
may be clothed. The whole West, as well as the immense 
plains which slope from the Rocky Mountains, are prohfic 
in natural plants which are suitable for manufacture into 
the finest caUco, and which have only to be gathered and 
manufactured to meet the wants and pecuniary aspirations 
of the agriculturalist. 

The following table, taken from the " Scientific Ameri- 
can," shows the progress of the cotton manufacture in this 
country : — 



94 



FIBRILIA. 



Ycarg. 


Male oper- 
atives em- 
ployed. 


Female 
operatives 
employed. 


Waps 
Females, 


Wages of Males. 


""WlX' 


1838 


14,000 


47,000 


#9,287,200 


#4,368,000 


$13,655,200 


1839 


15,000 


50,000 


9,880,000 


4,680,000 


14,560,000 


1840 


15,500 


52,000 


10,275.200 


4,8.%,000 


15 111,200 


1841 


13.800 


46,000 


9,089,600 


4.305,000 


13,395,200 


1842 


16,500 


55,000 


10,868,000 


5,148,000 


16,016,000 


1843 


17,000 


69,000 


11,6-58,400 


4,304,000 


16,962,400 


1844 


20,000 


66,000 


13,041,600 


6,240,000 


19,281,600 


1845 


22,000 


72,000 


11,227,200 


6.864,000 


21,091.200 


1846 


23,000 


75,000 


14,820,000 


7,176 000 


21996,000 


1847 


25.000 


85,000 


16,796,000 


7,800,000 


24,596,009 


1848 


27,000 


95,000 


18,772,000 


8,424,000 


27.196,000 



The manufacturers of England are beginning to be 
anxious about the permanency of a supply of cotton, so 
important to the subsistence of their middling classes, and 
at the present time are exerting themselves to increase the 
growth of cotton in their colonies. 

** The Cotton Supply of England : its Importance to Society at Large. 
— Upwards of 500,000 workers are now employed in our cotton fac- 
tories ; and it has been estimated that at least 4 ,000,000 persons in this 
country are dependent upon the cotton trade for subsistence. A 
century ago, Lancashire contained a population of only 300,000 per- 
sons ; it now numbers 2,300,000. In the same period of time, this 
enormous increase exceeds that on any other equal surface of the 
globe, and is entirely owing to the development of the cotton trade. In 
1856, there were in the United Kingdom 2,210 factories, running 
28,000,000 spindles and 299,000 looms, by 97,000 horse power. Since 
that period, a considerable number of new mills have been erected, 
and extensive additions have been made to the spinning and weaving 
machinery of those previously in existence. 

" The amount of actual capital invested in the cotton trade of this 
kingdom is estimated to he between £60,000,000 and £70,000,000 
sterling. 

" The quantity of cotton imported into this country, in 1859, was 
1,181| million pounds weight ; the value of which, at 6d. per lb., is 
equal to £30,000,000 sterling. Out of 2,829,110 bales of cotton im- 
ported into Great Britain, America has supplied us with 2,086,341 ; that 
is, 5-7ths of the whole. In other words, out of every 7 lb. imported 
from all countries into Great Britain, America has supplied 5 lb. 



FIBRILIA. 95 

India has sent us about 500,000 bales ; Egypt, about 100 000 ; South 
America, 124,000 ; and other countries, between 8,000 and 9,000 bales. 
In 1859, the total value of the expoits from Great Britain amounted 
to £130,513,185, of which £47,020,920 consisted of cotton goods and 
yarns. Thus more than one-third, or £1 out of every £3, of our 
entire exports consists of cotton. Add to this the proportion of 
cotton which forms part of £12,000,000 more exported in the shape of 
mixed woollens, haberdashery, millinery, silks, apparel, and slops. 
Great Britain alone consumes annually £24,000,000 worth of cotton 
goods. Two conclusions, therefore, may safely be drawn from the 
facts and figures now cited: First, that the interests of every cotton 
worker are bound up with a gigantic trade, which keeps in motion an 
enormous mass of capital; and this capital, machinery, ax\d\a.hoT depends 
for Jive-sevenths of its employment upon the Slave States of America for 
prosperity and continuance ; secondly, that, if a war should at any time 
break out between England and America, a general insurrection take 
place among the slaves, disease sioeep off those slaves by death, or the 
cotton crop fall short in quantity, whether from severe frosts, disease 
of the plant, or other possible causes, our mills would be stopped for 
want of cotton, employers would be ruined, and famine would stalk 
abroad among the hundreds and thousands of work-people who are at 
present fortunately well employed. 

** Calculate the consequences for yourself. Imagine a dearth of 
cotton, and you may picture the horrors of such a calamity from the 
scenes you may possibly have witnessed when the mills have only 
run on ' short time.' Count up all the trades that are kept going out 
of the wages of the working classes, independent of builders, mecha- 
nics, engineers, colliers, &c., employed by the mill owners. Railways 
would cease to pay, and our ships would lie rotting in iheir ports, 
should a scarcity of the raw materiiil for manufacture overtake us." — 
From the London Cotton Supply Reporter, of February 3, 1860. 

France feels the need of cotton-growing lands very 
keenly ; and, if her colonial possessions were adapted to 
the growth of that fibre, she would be wilhng as a nation 
to contribute largely to the culture of so valuable a product 
for her manufactures. 

The Cotton Trade of France : its Commencement and Progress. — 
The Paris " Siecle," of the 26th of January, contains an article giving 
a historical sketch of the cotton trade in France, from its importation 



96 



riBRILIA. 



by the brothers Bowers, of Ghent, in 1800. At present cotton-spinning 
extends over the departments of the Ain, the Aisne, AUier, Aiiege, 
Aube, Aveyron, Basses Alpes, Kouches du Rhone, Calvados, Correze, 
C6re d'Or, Doubs, Drome, Eure, Gironde, Haute Saone, Haute Viene, 
Isere, Loire, Loire Inferieure, Loiret, Loire et Cher, Lozere, Manche, 
Maine et Loire, Marne, M lyenne, Meurthe, Meuse, Nord, Oise, Orne, 
Pas de Calais, Puy de Dome, Basses Pyrenees, Pyrenees Orientales, 
Rhone, Bas Rhin, Haut Rhin, Haute Saone, Saithe, Saone et Loire, 
Seine, Seine et Oise, Seine Inferieure, Somme, Tarn, Tarn et Garonne, 
Var, Vaucluse, Vosges, Vendee. Cotton cloths are manufactured in 
the same departments; and, in small quantities, in the departments of 
the Gers, Lot et Garonne, Indre et Loire, Morbihan, and Cher. There 
were 2,606 cotton manufactories at work in France in the year 18o0. 
The spinning mills enployfd 63.064 workmen ; the cotton cloth manu- 
factories, 188,067; and the manufactories of inferior articles, 23 299. 
The spinning-mills contained 16,301 frames, and the manufactories 
113.378. The production of these establishments amounted in value to 
only 334, 000, OOOf, which would give only lOf. worth to each iuhibi- 
tant, or scarcely four shirts, or six pairs of stockings, or one sheet,— 
which is too little for a civilized country, particularly when we consider 
that a large quantity of the cotton manufdctured in France is exported. 
The cotton imported annunlly into France from America, Asia, and 
second-hand from England, is estimated at 72,000,000 kilogrammes, 
value about 108,000, OOOf. This sum is increased by the import duty, 
which, in 1851, amounted to 12,320,000f., or about an eighth of its real 
value. 

With such fiscal regulations it was impossible for French manu- 
facturers to compete with English. Cotton-wool, prepared for spinning, 
coming direct from French colonies, enters free of duty. Turkish 
cotton, imported in French vessels, pays 15f. the 100 kilogrammes, and 
in foreign vessels 25f. Indian cotton is taxed of., or 25f,, as the case 
may be; that of other countries beyond Europe, 20f. and 25f. When 
cotton is at all worked, it is subject to an enormous duty. Thus, cot- 
ton carded and gummed in sheets pays a duty of lOOf. and 107f. the 100 
kilogrammes, according as the ships by which it is imported are French 
or foreign. Raw cotton, in thread of No. 143, pays 7f. and 7f. 50c. the 
kilogramme; cotton-twist, 8f. and 8f. 80c. All others, without dis- 
tinction of quality or number, are prohibited. The cotton-thread pro- 
hibited is all that is comprised between Nos. 10 and 143, — that is, all 
that is manufactured in France. The consequence of the withdrawal 
of prohibition will be, that thread used in the manufacture of coarse 



FIBRILIA. 97 

middling cloths, that is, those most used by the mass of the popula- 
tion, will be admitted. Cotton-lace is prohibited in France, except 
tliat manufactured by hand, which pays five per cent on the value. 
At present France does not export one-third of the quantity of cotton- 
lace exported by England. When the duty is taken off the raw 
material, and reasonable duties are imposed on cotton-thread, it is 
expected that France, after a certain time, will be able to compete with 
her rival. All nations, except the English, are inferior to the French 
in this branch of manufacture, in which the talent of her weavers, 
dyers, and printers would perhaps have secured her the first place, 
if she could have procured the primary matter at a lower price. She 
must likewise reduce the price of transport, revise the port dues and 
the various restrictions on her maritime commerce. She must like- 
wise prepare dockyards on her Atlantic ports, to receive cotton. The 
cultivation of cotton in Algeria will likewise produce an excellent 
effect. It will enable Frajice, before many years, to dispense with the 
slave groicn cotton of America; and, in case of a marititne loar, she 
need not fear any difficulty in bringing cotton into France. 

The English are making strong efforts to increase their 
supply of cotton ; and, no doubt, they will eagerly press 
the further cultivation of flax and hemp for fibrilia within 
the United Kingdom, as well as their vast colonies in In- 
dia. A London correspondent of the "New York World," 
of June 9, 1860, says : — 

The Movement for Neio Supply of Cotton. — I gave you some ac- 
count of the proceedings of the " Cotton Supply Association " in Man- 
chester, the object of which is to stimulate the production of cotton in 
other portions of the world, that they may not here be so dependent 
on the United States for their supply. The real design is undoubtedly 
two-fold : First, to guard against the disasters to their manufactur- 
ing districts, should hostilities ever occur between the two countries, 
so as to cut off the supply of cotton from our ci)untry. But the 
second and real reason undoubtedly is to contribute toward the aboli- 
tion of slavery in America, by lessening the demand for cotton from us, 
and so making slave labor unprofitable. This may be a very benevolent 
enterprise; but its practical results will no more meet the expectations 
of the men who are engaged in it., than did the results of emancipation 
in the West Indies, in regard to sugar, meet the expectations of the 
5 



98 riBRlLIA. 

benevolent men who were instrumental in accomplishing that great 
result. 

Official returns just published here by the government give some 
interesting facts on the subject of cotton. These returns show that 
the imports of cotton into the United Kingdom, in 1859, attained a 
total much in excess of the imports of any former year. Seventeen 
years ago, or in 1843, the receipts here were 573,193,116 lbs. ; in 1859, 
they were 1,225,989,072 lbs. ! showing an increase, in seventeen years, 
of 552,785,956 lbs., or about 82 per cent. 

Of the supply, the United States contributed, in 1843, 85 per cent 
of the receipts; and, in 1859, 78 per cent. It thus appears, that, not- 
withstanding the enormous increase in the consumption of the raw 
material, Lancashire is now less dependent upon the United States, by 
7 per cent, than she was seventeen years since. In 1843, the total 
importation from all other parts of the world, except the United 
States, was 98,454,594 lbs. ; in 1859, it was 264,281,208. 

In regard to cotton manufactures in the United Kingdom, the total 
value of cotton manufactures of all kinds, including cotton, twist, and 
yarn, was, in 1843, £23,447,971. In 1859, it reached the enormous 
sura of £48,202,225, or over ^231,000,000 ; the increase in the value of 
manufactured goods, in seventeen years, being 106 per cent. Thus 
the recent opening of China and Japan, and of India, consequent upon 
the recent great changes in the government, and the policy to be pur- 
sued toward that country, will greatly increase the demand for manu- 
factured cotton goods, no one can doubt; and it is my deliberate belief, 
that, if the product of the raio article in America should increase a hun- 
dred-fold, E)igland would constime it all. I trust its production will, 
indeed, be vastly increased ; but that our manufactures will so increase 
that we shall consume more than the increase in our own country, and 
thus compete with England in the vast markets of the East. 

British Exchange of Cotton Goods for Cotton. — An 
English journal gives the following statement of the ex- 
changes of cotton goods by England in 1859 for raw cot- 
ton, with its two great sources of cotton supply, India and 
the United States : — 

Exchange with India in 1859 : 

Export of cotton goods to India 193,603,270 lbs. 

Import of raw cotton from India, 192 330,880 •* 

Excess of exports, 1,272,390 " 



riBRILIA. 99 

Exchange with the United States in 1859 : 

Export of cotton goods, 18-59, 45,029,411 lbs. 

Import of raw cotton, 1859, 961,707,264 " 

Excess of imports, 916,677,853 <' 

The journal from which this statement is taken thinks that 
it is better for England to cultivate the Asiatic market for its 
cotton goods, instead of the American ; in which opinion we 
heartily concur. It appears that India and China together 
took last year over two-fifths (approaching one-half) of all 
the British exports of cotton manufactures. The state- 
ments are thus given, — 

British exports of cotton goods in 1859 : 

To India, 968,016,350 yds. 

To China, &c., 194,335,633 " 

Total to India and China, 1,162,351,983 '« 

To all the rest of the world, 1,401,093,410 " 

The press of the United States have of late been 
prolific in data on the subject of the growth and manu- 
facture of cotton. The " New York Times" has pub- 
lished some valuable articles on that subject, and the two 
following are from that sheet : — 

England Looking for a Supply icithout Dependence upon the United 
States. — As the Cotton States are placing great dependence upon Eng- 
land as their future customer for their '• great staple," it may be well 
for them to read the third annual report of the " British Cotton-Supply 
Association," from which some extraordinary facts may be learned, 
showing th'j great energy and research of that Association, acting 
under the determination to obtain a full supply of cotton in the future, 
without dependence upon the product of slave labor. 

Those who believe that England has been unsuccessful in her efforts 
to obtain cotton from other places will be somewhat surprised at the 
following facts. The sources of her supply, at different periods, have 
been as follows : — 



100 FIBRILIA. 



1850. 1857. 

United States, lbs. 493,153,112 654,758,048 

Brazil, ♦' 30,299,932 29,910,832 

Egyptian, " 18,931,414 24,842,144 

West Indies, " 228,913 1,443,568 

East Indie?, " 118,872,742 250,338,144 

All other places, " 2,090,698 7,986.160 



Total, " 669,576,861 969,318,896 

Thus showing, though her increased consumption is very large, yet 
she has obtained nearly one-third of the whole amount consumed from 
other places than the United States. 

The prospect, however, of her future supply is the more surprising, 
as the report of the Association illustrates. They state that there 
is not an inhabited cotton country in the world to which their attention 
has not been directed. 

Through the influence of the British Consuls, the cultivation of cot- 
ton in Turkey has been commenced under great promise. The Home 
Minister in Greece has introduced it into many departments ; and in 
the Jdand of Cxjprus an estate of eighty thousand acres has been devoted to 
it. Cotton seed has been distributed among the farmers of the fertile valley 
in the Meander, in Asia Miiior, with full instructions for planting and 
gathering the crop. Of Egypt, the Committee report " that they ex- 
pect to increase the growth from one hundred thousand bales ^o ^Atf 
large figure of one 7nillio7i. In Tunis, the Bey is using great exertions 
with his subjects to cultivate the * Great Staple.' " In Western Africa* 
at Sierra Leone and Sherbro, cotton-gins have been introduced, and a 
profitable trade in the native cotton commenced. In Liberia, and along 
the gold coast, every exertion is being made with every prospect of 
success. At Accra and Cape Coast Castle are Agricultural Societies 
which make cotton culture their specialty. A great quantity of cotton 
is raised in the adjacent countries. 2he Accra Agriculttiral Society 
have engaged tcith a Lincolnshire firm to purchase this cotton, tchich 
they buy in the seed at less than a cent a pound. This cotton, cleaned, 
is worth in Liverpool fourteen cents a pound. 

From the interior an agent of the Association reports that a large 
export trade will soon be realized, and that he found seventy thou- 
sand people busy in its growing, spinning, and weaving. The pros- 
pect is, that, in the numerous towns which stud the coasts, cotton 
marts will soon be established, and furnish a large quantity. 

At Elmina, Benin, Old Calabar, and the Camcroone, a good begin- 



FIBRILIA. 101 

ning has been made by distribution of seed and cotton-gins. At Lagos, 
a hopeful trade has been opened. Along the line of the River Niger, 
it is proposed to establish trading stations. It is reported that im- 
mense quantities, which can be bought for six cents clean on the Ni- 
ger, are worth sixteen cents in Liverpool. 

In South Africa, the government of Natal is stimulating the cotton 
culture. Numerous farmers there are planting it ; and, as an illustra- 
tion of their success, one of them reports that he has ou hand 
one hundred thousand pounds. 

In Eastern Africa, in the rich valley of the Shire, a European col- 
ony is being established for raising cotton. 

From the Feejee Islands the Committee have received the most won- 
derful specimens of cotton growing wild there, and reproducing for 
from ten to fifteen years ! The samjjles are so valuable as to range 
from thirteen to twenty four cents per pound : they say " that from no 
other part of the world has such a collection of graduated qualities 
been received." It is calculated that from half the area of these islands 
might be raised four millions bales per annum. 

Australia has entered into the cultivation, and will soon export 
freely. Samples of the best quality have been received. But the 
Committee say from "wondrous India " are they receiving the most 
flattering reports ; and this year it is estimated that her exports will 
reach a million bales. In British Guiana the cultivation has also been 
undertaken, with the most encouraging prospects. 

In Jamaica, the " British Cotton Company" report flattering pro- 
gress. So much for England. 

In Havana, Cuba, great efforts are being made ; and a new company 
has been established, called the " Aiiglo- Spanish Cotton Company,'' 
with a capital of .!^1,000,000, for raising cotton. 

It is evident from these facts, to the intelligent mind, that " King 
Cotton" does not sit so firmly on that throne, before which so many 
bow and worship, as many may imagine or desire. And it is certaia 
that the day is not distant when the manufacturers of Europe will 
draw their largest supply of cotton from the sources named ; and that 
the American manufacturer will also be impressed with the belief (so 
soon as his sympathies for the interests of the Cotton States shall be 
refused and severed), as are the European manufacturers, that cheap 
labor should produce cheap cotton, and that in no other parts of the 
world can labor be found upon ttie right soil and in the right climate, 
to compete with Africa and the East Indies, where more than 
300,000,000 are waiting employment. To those parts of the world will 



102 FIBRILTA. 

the Northern States soon be led to look, by the energies and example 
of England, to supply their wants of cotton ; and asked to join with 
the other " civilized powers " of the earth, in the protection and 
employment of free labor, and the suppression of those institutions an- 
tagonistic to the same. 

Cotton and the Cotton Trade. — The " North American Review " for 
the current quarter begins with an article (written by a gentleman 
of Boston) headed as above. The history and statistics of this import- 
ant staple are given in a brief but clear account, derived mainly from 
** Ellison's Handbook," the latest authority on the subject. It is, in- 
deed, a wonderful history. No other product of human labor, no other 
element in the commerce of the world, has played so momentous a part. 
In less than a half century, the manufacture of cotton has quadrupled 
the wealth and power of Great Britain. In the same short period, its 
culture in the United States has changed the current of events, and 
controlled our national politics. Among the causes which have con- 
spired to bring our country to its present critical condition, cotton 
stands pre-eminent. The change which has taken place in southern 
opinion and feeling as to the nature and tendencies of slavery, and the 
entirely altered tone of southern language on that theme, began with 
the rising prospects of cotton, and have kept pace with the progress 
of that great staple. Such a change very naturally awakened the 
jealousy, and called forth the remonstrances, of the North. The pur- 
posely irritating assaults of the abolitionists, and even the milder 
comments of those who could not but condemn the institution, while 
they deprecated all interference with it, reacted on the southern mind, 
and, by a process perfectly natural, drove it still further in the wrong 
direction. 

"When our constitution was adopted, cotton, as an article of field 
culture and of trade, was unknown to the country. What if the pro- 
ducts and exports of the Slave States had continued the same as they 
were in 1787 ? Suppose their principal contributions to general com- 
merce were still, as at that time, tobacco, rice, indigo, and wax. Who 
imagines that under such conditions the South would ever have stood 
where she now stands ? Who doubts that long before this the whole 
northern tier of her States would have been far on the road to general 
emancipation and universal freedom ? or that even the States which 
lie nearest the tropic would by this time have been looking earnestly 
and hopefully forward to the day when they, too, should enjoy a like 
blessed deliverance ? Most assuredly, the formidable attitude of the 



FIBRILIA. 103 

question which now confronts us is due mainly to cotton. Other 
causes have had their share, and may have seemed more efficient. 
Motives of humanity, religious scruples, jealous feelings, personal and 
partisan ambition, sectional prejudice and sectional injustice, real or 
supposed, all these have mingled with more or less of influence in the 
process, and have contributed to the combined result, — and yet, as 
efficient causes, have all been interior and subordinate to cotton, the 
primum mobile of the entire system. 

Very probably the people of the Southern States have been quite 
unconscious of the gradual change which this great cotton interest 
has been effecting in their opinions and feelings in regard to the whole 
subject of slavery. Yet none the less demonstrable, as we apprehend 
the matter, are the change and its cause. The vast importance 
attached by the cotton-raisers to their great staple has, for years, been 
a matter of common remark. In their view, it has seemed to surpass 
and overshadow any other interest, and all other interests, of the 
country- And, at this moment, is it not evident that all their fine 
air-castles of future sovereignty, trade, wealth, and alliances, are built 
on imaginary cotton bales ? Would they venture, or threaten to ven- 
ture, on an enterprise so perilous, did they not hope and expect that 
somehow their cotton is to carry them through it ? The southern 
cotton crops have become, they tell us, so essential to the world, that, 
rather than forego the use, slavery-hating England herself will 
eagerly join hands with the great slave-trading confederacy. 

Should the menaces which now load every breeze from the sunny 
South prove more than empty threats, the cotton question will soon 
become the great question of the day. Our as yet confident belief is, 
that the dreadful issues of rebellion and revolution, of devastation 
and carnage, will be averted. As coming events shall cast their 
frightful shadow before, let us hope that the conservatism of the South 
will rise in its might, and that thousands of deluded secessionists will 
pause, and draw back from the abyss towards which they are now 
rushing. Heaven in mercy grant it ! But suppose it is to be other- 
wise, — suppose disruption to ensue, with or without war, — is cotton 
still to rule ? That a state of war, so long as it should last, would be 
all but fatal to the cotton-planters, is very certain. But suppose, — 
impossible though it be, — suppose secession peaceably eflected, is the 
monarch's throne perfectly secure ? 

We have lately had occasion to demonstrate the utter powerlessness 
of King Cotton in an hour of trial like the present, and the essential 
weakness of every community, which, like the South, cultivates but 



104 FIBRILIA. 

one thing, and that a raro material, which they cannot convert into useful 
forms. If they would become truly prosperous and independent, our 
southern brethren must diversify their agriculture, and raise something 
to eat as well as something to wear. But there are other aspects of 
this great cotton question, destined soon to arrest universal attention, 
and which must deeply interest both the cotton-growers of the South 
and the cotton-traders of the North. 

How earnestly England has endeavored to free herself from depen- 
dence on our cotton planters is well known. Wherever in Asia or in 
Africa cotton is raised or can be raised, she has lent her aid to increase 
and improve its culture. True, she has met with many difficulties. 
The costly experiments made in India, with imported seed, and under 
the supervision of experienced planters obtained from our Southern 
States, though not wholly unsuccessful, fell a good way short of their 
expected results. Both in quantity and quality, American cotton had 
an advantage, which it seemed likely to keep. This partial failure of 
British experimentation has contributed largely to the overweening 
confidence of southern planters in the cotton power. 

But the English people are not easily diverted from any purpose 
which they have deliberately formed. If we are to have a Southern 
Confederacy, based on the cotton-trade, it may be well for its members 
to know, definitely, what are the p7'ospects as well as purposes of their 
greatest customer in reference to this very important article. As to 
her purpose, there can be little doubt. If her hate of slavery makes 
her even now reluctant to buy of us, would she be less reluctant to 
purchase of a nation wholly given over to an institution which she 
abhors ? Nay, it is certain, if any thing in the future is certain, that 
she would redouble her eff"orts to emancipate herself from all depen- 
dence on the southern cotton-fields. 

To what extent she has the prospect of such emancipation may be 
learned, in part, from the following facts. Apart from America, it is 
evident that India must be her main dependence for those supplies of 
the raw material which have become absolutely necessary to feed her 
thirty millions of spindles. In this vast outlying province of the 
British Empire, cotton has always been raised in very great quantities. 
It may surprise some to be told that its present annual produce ex- 
ceeds four millions of bales. As the average Indian bale is about fifty 
pounds less than the American, so much allowance must be made, 
when comparing the crop of India with our own. In respect of 
quality, the diff'erence is still greater. The Indian cotton is short in 
the staple, and is apt to be in bad condition when it reaches the mar- 



FIBRILIA. i05 

kot. To a certain extent, this inferiority may be ascribed to peculi- 
arities of the soil and climate. Irrigation and manuring will do much 
to improve the quality, as well as to increase the product. Col. Grant 
states, as the result of his own experience and obserration : — 

"Nothing appears more susceptible of improvement from culture 
and a regular supply of water than cotton. In fact, the cotton of the 
common field and that of the irrigated bed cannot be recognized as 
the same plant. Not only do the shrubs attain to an increased size, 
and bear more numerous pods, but each pod is much larger, and con- 
tains a much greater quantity of fibre." 

Old works for irrigation have recently been repaired, and new canals 
for the same object have been made, producing a wonderful change 
and rich returns. 

" In 1857 a joint-stock company was formed in London to construct 
a canal for navigation and irrigation through Madras, Berar, and 
Mysore, and another from the Malabar to the Coromandel coast, which 
will open four hundred thousand square miles of cotton-growing land, 
— a much larger area than is now devoted to cotton in the United 
States." 

Hitherto, difficulty of transportation has seemed to be an insupera- 
ble obstacle to the increase and improvement of the East Indian cot- 
ton trade. Over many hundreds of miles inland, it is conveyed some 
eight or ten miles a day, on the backs of bullocks, to the nearest water, 
and thence by boats to the place of shipment. Imperfectly cleaned at 
first, saturated with water on the way, torn and stained, often with 
sand or stones inserted to conceal waste or depredation, the bales 
reach the end of their long, slow journey. To meet these evils, as 
well as to add security to those remote possessions, a system of rail- 
ways, more than two thousand miles in extent, is now in rapid pro- 
gress. 

Another obstacle to the raising of cotton in India, and probably the 
greatest of all, has resulted from the tenure of the soil, and an iniqui- 
tous system under which half or two-thirds of the crop go for rent and 
taxes. Since the country passed to the Crown, surveys have been or- 
dered, with the design of bringing the land of India under a system of 
rent which shall be just and fair. When this is accomplished, it will 
increase immensely the resources and wealth of that populous country. 
Let it be remembered, now, that the steady energy and boundless 
wealth of the United Kingdom are pledged to the prosecution of these 
great improvements ; that she is carrying them on at an expenditure 
of twenty-five millions of dollars a year ; that she has a hundred and 
6* 



106 FIBRILIA. 

sixty millions of subjects to do her work ; and that she is resolved, if 
the thing be possible, to raise her own cotton, —and we may see some 
reason to question the long-continued supremacy of our great south- 
ern king. 

Twelve years ago, Europe received annually, from the East Indies, 
less than two hundred thousand bales of cotton. In 1857, the supply 
from that source had reached nearly seven hundred thousand bales. 
This large ratio of increase will, undoubtedly, be vastly augmented 
under the stimulus and the facilities soon to be furnished. In the 
words of the reviewer, — 

" It is safe to predict that in five years more the produce shipped 
from India will surprise the world. Were the export of cotton from 
the United States to be arrested for two years, by a revolution or by 
adverse seasons, there is reason to believe that India might be made to 
yield, from her vast resources, nearly two millions of hales per ammm 
to England." 

But it is not to Hindostan alone that England looks for those sup- 
plies of cotton which are to make her independent of the American 
planter. Cotton of superior quality is raised on the banks of the Nile. 
In 1855, Egypt contributed 251,000 bales to the European market; 
and this amount may be a good deal increased when the immense 
dams now in progress, under scientific engineers, shall add fifteen feet 
in height to the annual inundation. In 1857, a company called the 
•' Cotton Supply Association " was formed in England ; and funds were 
raised to carry out its objects. In less than a year this society had 
sent nearly 6,000 bushels of superior cotton-seed to the coasts of Asia 
and Africa, and to the shores of the Levant. Many hundreds of cot- 
ton-gins have been sent from England to the western coast of Africa, 
■whence they find their way into the cotton-raising countries of the 
interior. In the Yarriba country, which lies between the Niger and 
the Atlantic, large quantities of cotton are raised for the market ; and 
a superior article is sold for three to four cents per pound, with a hand- 
some profit to the planter. Over the whole of the fertile and well-wa- 
tered region of Sousan, stretching from the sources of the Niger to 
those of the Nile, with the Great Desert on the north and the Moun- 
tains of the Moon below, cotton is known to grow spontaneously, and 
is formed into cloth by the negro women. And England, we are told, 
" is using every efibrt to divert the chiefs of this region from the slave- 
trade to the culture of cotton. With the one hand she invites them 
to produce and sell the raw material, and with the other to receive 
the fabrics of her varied manufacture." 



■"X 



Pln/^ 




FIBRES OF NATURAL WOOL 

Dranietar nimjiufrcJ ?)( \ '. 



jK^iBuffords LitK 
« 



FIBRILIA. 107 

Nor is this all. Every scientific, every missionary explorer who 
leaves England to penetrate the African interior must go, like Ceres, 
with his pockets full of seed. Livingston, in his steam-launch, push- 
ing up the Zambezi ; Burton and Speke in the heart of Ethiopia ; and 
Barkie on the Niger, — take with them the cotton-gin and cotton-seed. 
But enough for the present. We have pointed out a few of the omens 
which should comfort those who fear that some convulsion at the 
South is about to stop all the looms and spindles. How those omens 
should be regarded by southern augers is for them to determine. 



WOOL. 

Wool is defined by Professor Owen to be " a peculiar 
modification of hair, characterized by fine transverse or 
oblique lines, from two to four thousand in the extent of 
an inch, — indicative of a minutely imbricated scaly surface, 
when viewed under the microscope ; on which, and on its 
curved or twisted form, depends its remarkable felting pro- 
perty, and its consequent value in manufactures." 

Wool is not peculiar to the sheep, but forms a sort of un- 
der-coat, beneath the long hair, in the goat and many other 
animals. The Argali, or wild sheep of Siberia and Kam- 
tschatka, has a summer coat of hair, sleek as that of the 
deer ; but in winter a woolly variety of hair is developed 
in excess, and the under-coat is also of a fine, woolly 
down. In the domestic sheep, the fleece has been greatly 
improved and modified by circumstances of climate, pas- 
ture, shelter, and judicious crossing of breeds, by which 
many varieties of wool have been grown, chiefly divisible 
into the two great classes of carding and combing wool. 
The occurrence of hair in the fleece of the domestic sheep 
is now rare, and is considered as indicative of bad manage- 
ment ; but, if sheep are left to themselves on downs and 



108 FIBRILIA. 

moors, there is a tendency to the formation of hair among 
the wooh Change of pasture has a marked influence on 
the quahty of the wool : if sheep that have been fed on 
chalk downs be removed to richer pastures, only a month 
before shearing, a remarkable improvement will take place 
in the fleece. So, also, sheep that occupy lands within a 
few miles of the sea will produce a longer and more pliant 
wool than that of sheep from more inland districts. Wool 
varies in quality in the same "flock at different times. 
When the sheep is in good condition, the fibre is brilliant ; 
but in badly fed or diseased sheep the m^ooI is dull and 
dingy, and when cut from tlie dead animal it is harsh and 
weak, and takes the dye badly. 

In commerce, wools are distinguished as fleece wools 
and dead wools, — the first being obtained from the annual 
shearings ; the second, from the dead animal. 

The fibre of wool has been made into cloth from the 
earliest ages, and its value has been superior to any other 
from which clothing has been made. Through the earliest 
histories, both sacred and profane, it is mentioned as an 
important and indispensable article of domestic economy. 
It is probable that the first use that was made of wool for 
clothing was by felting it into a kind of cloth for that pur- 
pose. Spinning and weaving must have been brought out 
at a subsequent day. 

It has been supposed, by able writers, that the sheep was 
not native with Europe, but with Central Asia, from which 
the whole race of domesticated sheep has sprung. The 
ancients were addicted to pastoral life ; and history has 
brought down to us, in stories of romantic beauty, the ex- 
periences of the shepherd, and the many blessings this 
simple life bequeathed to posterity. Many of the inhabit- 



riBRILlA. 109 

ants of Tartarj, Persia, Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine, 
and the north of Arabia, were occupied by pastoral life ; 
and wandering shepherds, for thousands of years, main- 
tained a distinct character in those countries. The plains 
of Mesopotamia were rich in pastorage ; and the book of 
Genesis gives us an interesting account of Jacob's expe- 
rience in raising flocks and herds. From Ezekiel Ave learn 
that Damascus supplied the Tyrians with wool. The 
Moabites made sheep-breeding " a royal occnpation.^^ 
The Arabs, from the earliest time up to the present day, 
have bestowed no less attention upon sheep than upon 
horses. Isaiah, recording the excellence of the sheep of 
Arabia, in the language of the address of the Almighty to 
liis people, says, " All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered 
together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister 
unto thee ; they shall come up with acceptance on mine 
altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory." 

The Hebrews were altogether an agricultural and pas- 
toral people. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob present beau- 
tiful images of the kind of life which still continues with 
little variation among the Bedouins or wandering no- 
mads of Arabia. 

The pastoral life of the Sicilians was marked by peculiar 
characters, as well as that of the Arcadians. The Belgians 
first introduced sheep into England ; and the Saxons ad- 
vanced the breed still further. Spain, of all European 
countries, has paid the most attention to the breed of sheep ; 
and the Spaniards introduced different races and breeds ' 
of sheep from all other countries accessible to them, and 
where their stock could be benefitted. The most valuable 
breed, and the most widely difi'used of all the fine-wool 
breeds of sheep in Europe, is the merino. America has 



110 FIBRILIA. 

obtained lier stock from nearly every country in Europe ; 
and at present she possesses nearly eveiy variety. Her 
wool crop is quite insufficient for her wants ; and a larger 
interest, under any circumstance, should be taken in avooI- 
growing by the farmers of the whole country. There are 
thirty millions of sheep in the United States, where there 
should be one hundred milHons ; and these yield but a small 
cut of wool, usually averaging but two or three pounds per 
head. The increase of sheep is cut down quite too much, 
by slaughter, for the market. It would be more profitable, 
in a long run, to pay more attention to raising sheep for 
the fleece, and less for the butcher. The product of wool 
in 1840 was 35,802,114 lbs.; in 1850, 52,789,174 lbs. : 
making an increase of 16,987,060 lbs., — 47-| per cent. 

The first sheep of New England were brought chiefly 
from England by the early settlers, and were the founda- 
tion of the stock bred here for two hundred years ; though 
it was collaterally intermixed to such an extent that at the 
present time it compares in character to no particular breed 
in Europe. 

The importation of the Spanish Merino, and other fine- 
wool sheep from Euroj^e, caused the reduction of the old 
English stock ; and it is now difficult to find the pure breed 
of any class of foreign sheep in the country. Sheep are 
pastured in the United States under greater restrictions 
than in Europe. In Spain, the migratory flocks, it is said, 
number ten million, which twice a year are led a journey 
of four hundred miles ; passing the summer in the moun- 
tains of the north, and winter on the plains of the South. 

The great demand for wool, in Europe as well as the 
United States, beyond any adequate means of supply, for 
the past few years, has led to all manner of experiments 



riBRILIA. Ill 

to meet the growing Avants of mankind. Most of the 
means used for this j^urpose have been in the wrong direc- 
tion. The efforts have turned in the hue of inferior coun- 
terfeits, as a mixture of wool, instead of a valuable auxili- 
ary to the wool-fibre. Coarse wool has been imported, 
unworthy of the name, and scarcely finer than goat's hair ; 
and the same has been mixed with other fibrous substances, 
like damaged cotton, and has been manufactured and 
thrown upon the market as pure woollen goods. The 
colors would change rapidly, and the fibres would separate, 
proving a worthless imposition upon the public. This 
system has even been carried on with a mixture of fine 
wool and cotton; and the people have been defrauded 
under the supposition that they were buying pure woollen 
goods. The farmers in many of the Western States have 
discovered this fraud in imported goods, and have arranged 
with small woollen mills, near at hand, to manufacture 
their cloths to order ; preferring to wear fabrics that will 
bear out the character that pure wool would give, even 
though not quite so smoothly dressed, than buy an article 
better looking which will soon drop to pieces in w^ear. A 
great many of the woollen factories in the "West have cut 
off their intercourse with commission merchants in the 
East ; choosing rather to depend upon the farming popula- 
tion in their vicinity for support, than manufacture for 
the general trade, paying large commissions for sales of a 
pure article reduced to the common standard of mixed 
goods in one common market. 

The West is beginning to feel " that goods can be pro- 
duced cheaper by giving employment to the hands on the 
spot, and a home market to materials." That this is 
especially true with regard to a second-hand intercourse 



11^ FIBRILIA. 

with Euroioe, a late "Western correspondent of a Boston 
paper, on this subject, remarks, — 

That the West can convert her own wool into cloth, employ her 
otherwise unemployed labor in doing it, and pay that labor in her own 
corn, wheat, and bacon ; that it is cheaper to do this than to send her 
wool to England, to be there made into cloth and brought back for 
use, and to send her corn after it to pay for the making, — she paying 
all expenses both ways, and taking such price for her corn as the 
English laborer chooses to pay, while her own people are seeking for 
profitable employment in vain. The consumers of the West may 
have also found out that their home-made cloth is cheaper, for the 
reason that it will wear twice as long a lime as the foreign, it being 
made wholly of wool, unmixed with "shoddy ; " and, although the price 
may seem dear at the time of purchase, it will prove otherwise in the 
end. Why, then, should the West continue to export her wool and 
corn, and import "shoddy" cloth, at an immense loss to herself, be- 
cause importers will sell their cheap stuff on credit? Better far to 
supply her own wants from her own means, and keep out of debt. 
And this, we apprehend, she will do to some extent, whatever tempta- 
tions may be oflFered in the shape of cheap foreign fabrics, sold on long 
credit. 

We have alluded to " shoddy." Perhaps all our readers do not 
know what it is, nor what they put upon their backs when they buy 
English cloth. A writer in the " U. S. Economist" says, — 

'* To supply the demand for shoddy, the whole world is searched for 
rags. The gutters of filthy cities; hospitals of every class and every 
clime; poor-houses; and in fact every place where filth, poverty, and 
wretchedness exist, — contribute largely to this supply." 

This being the material from which it is made, no wonder, therefore, 
that, — 

*' Although the shoddy trade has added largely to the wealth of those 
concerned in it, yet it has its necessary evils. There is a sickness known 
in Dewsbury as the « rag fever,' that afflicts those who are directly 
connected with the sorting and grinding of woollen rags. They are 
easily known by their pale and sickly looks, aside from the disagree- 
able smell that is always with them ; and, were it not for the very 
stringent sanitary regulations that are enforced in England, the 
manufacture of shoddy would breed a plague. It requires but a little 
stretch of the imagination to picture to ourselves the amount of filth, 
and the seeds of disease, that must accumulate where shoddy is largely 
manufactured." 



FIBRIL! A. 113 

He says of the cloth made from this material, in whole or in part, — 
" It is an error, however, to suppose that the consumption of shoddy 
fabrics in England have increased in the same ratio that they have 
been produced in that country. By far the largest portion of the 
cheap low woollens, made in England, are exported; and the United 
States takes more of them than any other country. It would be about 
as difficult to induce a man in the shoddy country to wear the article 
he manufactures, as it would be to compel an apothecary to swallow 
his own decoctions, — they know too much about it." 

And this is the cloth with which our manufacturers have to com- 
pete ; and so hardly are they pressed with it, that it is said they 
will have to resort to the use of " shoddy " in self-defence. We hope 
not. American cloths, both of cotton and wool, command a large 
preference now, from their superior strength and durability. Let them 
lose this reputation, and the competition will be at an end, because 
we cannot compete with England in " shoddy ; " and we shall lose, in 
the attempt, all we have gained by making sound, honest fabrics. 

Such is the description of goods imported ; and the mimu* 
facturers of New England know it well, and have to bear 
up under its depressing influence. Their own goods bear 
no comparison with English manufactures, at least so far 
as the debasing influence of the use of " shoddy " is con- 
cerned. 

The great difficulties in the way of the manufacturer of 
woollens have been for the want of a partial substitute for 
wool, by the mixture of some substance which should not 
detract from its strength, value, and beauty, and which 
would cost less than wool. Many fibres would do this to 
advantage, with a moderate per cent of mixture, was it not 
for the difficulty, and in fact impossibility, of spinning a long- 
line and short fibre together. The fibre of flax or hemp, 
to the amount of twenty-five per cent, could be mixed with 
wool to an advantage, in every respect, for the manufac- 
ture of broadcloth, was it not for the difficulty before named 
in spinning. This difficulty has been overcome m the 



114 FIERI II A. 

manufacture of fibrlKa ; and it is a relief to the manufac- 
turer to be able to state to liis customers frankly, that 
fibrilia is mixed with the wool in his cloths, and that the 
goods are absolutely more valuable, and will hold the colors 
better, than though they vfere pure wool. The length of the 
staple of the mixture of fibrilia can be governed entirely 
by the length of the fibres of the wool ; and that is what has 
been so much needed heretofore. In the manufacture of 
hosiery, this mixture is of great value, as the greater amount 
of stockings worn in this country have a large combination 
of cotton with the wool. Any individual judgment, familiar 
with flax, will decide in favor of fibrilia against cotton, for 
such a purpose, in view of obtaining strength, softness, and 
beauty. 

Hosiery thus mixed will produce an entire new influence 
in the conducting properties of the fibre in the stocking, — 
an item of no little importance to health and comfort. 
Many people are affected differently through perspiration 
of the feet ; and fibrilia, being a better conductor of heat and 
electricity than either wool or cotton, will in the mixture 
produce an effect by such means which must prove bene- 
ficial to all. The following lines by Dyer will thus, in 
some measure, be contradicted : — 

"Still shall o'er all prevail the shepherd's stores, 
For numerous uses known ; none yield such warmth, 
Such beauteous hues receive, so long endure ; 
So pliant to the loom, so various, none." 

The one hundred and seventy-seven woollen mills in 
Massachusetts, producing from fifteen to twenty millions 
of dollars worth of goods per annum, would save two mil- 
lions of dollars annually by the use of a proper amount of 



Platv 11 



FIBRES OF NATURAL HEMP 



.R.BuFfoTds 



'^ashmdior d. Sosic: 



FIBRILIA. 115 

fibrilia of their own manufacture, and produce more valua- 
ble goods than now. 

The drawmg of the wool fibres, as shown in plate 8, is 
most perfect ; and the engraving is skilfully done. It is 
believed to be one of the most perfect microscopical expres- 
sions of that fibre which has ever been published. 

The number of sheep existing in the United States in 
1850 was 21,723,220 ; and it is quite unfortunate that the 
amount is not three times as many. The number of 
pounds of wool raised in the United States the same year, 
according to the census, was 52,516,959 pounds. 



HEMP. 

"Hemp is a valuable plant (the Cannabis Sativa of 
Linnceus), supposed to be a native of India, but long since 
naturalized and extensively cultivated in Italy, and many 
countries of Europe, particularly Russia and Poland, where 
it forms an article of primary commercial importance. It 
is also cultivated in different parts of America, though not 
in such quantities as to supersede its importation. It is 
stronger and coarser in the fibre than flax ; but its uses, 
culture, and management are pretty much the same. 
Wlien grown for seed it is a very exhausting crop ; but 
when pulled green it is considered as a cleaner of the 
ground. In this country its cultivation is not deemed pro- 
fitable ; so that, notwithstanding the encouragement it has 
received from government, and the excellent quality of 
English hemp, it is but little grown, except in some few 
districts of Suffolk and Lincolnshire. The quantity raised 
in Ireland is also inconsiderable." — Loudon's Encycloi^edia 
of Agriculture, 



116 FIBRILIA. 

With proper preparation, English hemp is preferable to 
anj other for strength, and makes excellent clothing for 
common wear. The coarser sort is made into cordage ; 
the better kind into linen, which is valued for its warmth. 
The colors of the cloth made from hemp remain unim- 
paired by wear ; and the cloth itself can be bleached both 
in the old and new way. 

Vast quantities of hemp are annually exported into Eng- 
land from Russia, and other countries where the growth is 
plenty. Petersburg!! furnishes a large supply. 

An immense amount is consumed in the manufacture of 
sails and cordage. An invaluable property which the 
plant possesses is that of driving away the insects which 
f<5ed upon vegetables ; and a mode of protecting gardens 
and other places from their assaults is by sowing a belt of 
hemp around them. The ancients are said to have had 
very Httle knowledge of the uses of hemp, in respect to the 
thread which it affords. Among the Greeks and Romans, 
however, it was used for ropes and nets, but not for cloth- 
ing. 

It is probable, from microscopical examination of the 
linen from the Egyptian mummies, that their flax resem- 
bled our hemp more than our flax, in the form of its fibrils. 

" Hemp has been cultivated in Bengal from remotest an- 
tiquity ; but not, as in Europe, for the purpose of being 
manufactured into cloth and cordage. In the Hindoo eco- 
nomy it serves as a substitute for malt ; a favorite intoxicat- 
ing liquor called hanga being produced from it. This, 
also, is the use to which it is apphed in Egypt." — Mil- 
burn's Oriental Commerce, S^c. 

Hemp is imported into the United States chiefly from 
Russia; the annual value, on an average, of the three 



FIBRILIA. 117 

years ending September 30, 1838, imported from that 
country, being $450,000, wliile the whole importation of 
it amounted to $609,334. 

" The annual value of all articles manufactured from 
hemp, sail-duck being the principle of these imported 
during the same period, amounted to $681,117, of which 
$549,967 were from Russia. An average quantity of 
these articles, to the value of about $100,000, was re- 
exported, — for the most part to Cuba and the other West 
India Islands, and to South America." — 3fc CullocKs Com- 
mercial Dictionary. 

Kentucky produces the largest portion of the hemp crop 
of the United States. In 1850, it was five-eighths of the 
whole hemp crop of the Union. Missouri, Indiana, and Ohio 
are increasing their culture of hemp, though more attention 
is paid to flax than formerly, which, in some States, has 
taken from the hemp crop. 

Hemp can be grown for fibrous manufacture in every 
State in the Union at a profit, although a limestone soil is 
the best for its cultivation. 

The crop of hemp and flax in Kentucky would make 
three hundred thousand bales of fibrilia. The seed of flax 
may make that plant preferred by the farmers of the West, 
as it pays for the expense of the whole crop, leaving the 
fibre as profit. Either of these fibres can be cultivated at 
much more profit for fibrilia than for any other purpose ; 
and, when machinery is introduced for breaking the stalks 
on the farm, much labor will be saved over the present 
mode of treatment of the fibre. Hemp bleaches under the 
new process without difficulty, and will hold colors better 
than most any other fibre, if colored under pressure by the 
new process. 



118 FIBRILIA. 

The fibrils of hemp, when separated from the filaments 
and fibres, vary but little from those of flax, with the 
exception that they appear more jointed. The juices, in 
flowing up and through the tubes, rest stationary for 
certain periods at certain points, and thus leave marks or 
circles on the inner side of the tube, which appear like 
joints in a rod of cane. The size of the ultimate fibril does 
not differ much from flax, and its length and fineness will 
vary according to the age at which the stalk is gathered. 
All fibrils, when used for textile fabrics, are better when 
cut before the stalk is fully ripe ; and this mode of gathering 
has been adopted with hemp, as the seed is not of itself so 
valuable as that of flax. In the new process for making 
fibrilia, however, the difference is not so great as in the old 
method for the manufacture of linen ; as all the glumien of 
the fibre, in either flax or hemp, is under the more immedi- 
ate control of the manufacturer. As a rule, the solving 
properties of the fibre of any plant may be estimated by 
the character of the oil of its seed. The oil from hemp- 
seed is more soluble, in other words, it is easier to dilute, 
than that from flax ; and, to a certain extent, the glumien of 
the fibre is easier to extract. It is quite probable that the 
character of both hemp and flax, in all their relations, as 
raised in America, is quite different from the ancient plants, 
and to a certain extent fron^ those now raised in Europe. 
Climate and soil will affect each in a few years, and pro- 
duce a different article from the original from which they 
sprung. 

Hemp is most valuable in the production of fibrilia ; and 
the present crop of the United States, if cottonized, would 
be much more valuable than for its present uses. The 
Kentucky hemp is capable of making a superior article of 



FIBRILIA. 119 

fibrilia, and therefore should not be used for cordage and 
other coarse purposes, when there are rriany kinds of hemp 
that will not cottonize, which are nearly as valuable for rope. 
The breaking of hemp for fibrilia may be done with ma- 
chinery, like flax, and thus reduce the cost of raising very 
much. A negro is now stinted at one hundred pounds 
per day, in breaking hemp by hand; while one of the 
fibrilia brakes, moved by two horses, will turn out one 
thousand pounds on the plantation. The process of cot- 
tonizing hemp is so nearly like that of flax, that a separate 
description is deemed quite unnecessary : the principal 
difference would be in simple changes of the solvents, 
which a little experience will teach any manufacturer. A 
volume might be written on the growth and manufacture 
of hemp alone, but it is not requisite to the present pur- 
pose of this work. A microscopical drawing of the fibre 
of hemp may be seen in Plate 9. 



JUTE, OR JEWS' MALLOW. 

Jute has but recently become an article of commerce to 
this country ; and, at the present time, by far the largest 
amount of importation is in bagging cloths, principally used 
for baling cotton in the South. Within a few years this 
trade has arisen between Lidia and other countries, among 
which is the United States ; and the fibre itself has been 
imported and used to some extent, mixed with other fibres, 
for certain kinds of manufacture. There are two kinds of 
jute under the same name, both of which are common in 
the East. The stems yield fibre, and the leaves are used 
as pot-herbs by the natives of Lidia, Egypt, Arabia, and 



120 FIBRILIA. 

Palestine. In dry soil; it grows small and herbaceous ; in 
a medium soil, some four or five feet high ; while, in a hot, 
moist climate, it attains a height of from ten to fifteen feet. 

Some attempts were made to introduce the culture of 
jute into England, but as yet not with general success, — 
probably for the want of proper care and attention to the 
requirements of the plant in acclimating it, w^hich may be 
done there, as well as in the United States, when skilful 
attention shall be given to that object in following out the 
natural laws which govern the changes in transplanting 
seed into a new soil and climate. 

Doctor Roxburgh describes the plant thus, — 

" Gorchorus Olitorms, ' Pot-Herb,' or ' Jews' Mallow,' as 
seen in the Mediterranean region, is an herbaceous annual 
plant, only a foot or two, but in India of several feet, in 
height, and erect in habit. 

" The stem is smooth, cylindrical, and more or less 
branched. The leaves are of a lively green color, and 
smooth, alternate, on foot-stalks, oval or ovo-lanceolate in 
shape, with the margin dentate, and with the two lower 
dentitures terminated by a slender filament. The stipules 
are simple, awl-shaped, and reddish colored at their base. 
The peduncles or flower-stalks are one to two flowered. 
The flowers are small ; having the calyx consisting of five 
pieces or sepals, and the corolla of five yellow petals. 
Stamens numerous. Torus, or nectary, cup-shaped, wath 
glands at the base of the petals. Ovary solitary ; ripening 
into a long, nearly cylindrical capsule, ten ribbed, six to 
eight times longer than it is broad, five celled, and formed of 
five valves, with five terminal points. Seeds numerous, 
with nearly perfect transverse partitions between them. 
Flowers in the rainy season, and fructifies in October and 



riBRILIA. 



121 



November. The fibre is long, soft, and silky, and well 
fitted for many of the purposes to which flax is applied, as 
it is divisible into very fine fibrils, which are easily spun. 
Jute is not easily bleached under the old methods of treat- 
ment, but is easily controlled under the new, which has a 
tendency to strengthen rather than weaken the fibre. The 
glumien is harder to dissolve than hemp, and the fibre 
requires different solvents from that fibre. The circum- 
ference of the stalk is about one inch." 

Dr. Buchanan describes the " pot" or "jute " as spun by 
two kinds of spindles, the Takur and Dhara. " A bunch of 
the raw material is hung up in every farmer's house, or to 
the protruding stick of a thatched roof; and every one 
who has leisure forms, with one or other of these spindles, 
some coarse pack-thread (sutoli), of which ropes are twisted 
for the use of the farm. 

" The Dhara is a reel, on which a thread, when suffici- 
ently twisted, is wound up. The Takur is a kind of spindle 
which is turned upon the thigh, or sole of the foot. Ghur- 
ghurea is a tliird kind of spinning-machine. It is only the 
lower Hindoo castes, called ' Rajbongsi,' * Konget,' and 

* Polya,' that form this pack-thread, for being woven into 
sackcloth ; and spin a finer thread, from which the cloth called 

* Megili,' or ' Megila,' is woven. By far the greater part of 
the cloth that is used dyed receives the color in the state of 
thread. The coarse cloth, called ' Megili,' is woven by the 
women of the lower class of people. Most famiUes have a 
loom ; and the people, especially the women, in the after- 
noons, work a httle occasionally, and tliis serves to clothe 
the family. 

" The pieces consist of three or four narrow cloths sewed 
together, some four or five cubits long, and from two to 



122 riBRILIA. 

three cubits wide, and are worth from two to eight annas 
each. Some have red and black borders. It is said to be 
more durable than cloth made of cotton." 

From a great number of specimens of jute examined by 
the author, he is convinced that the fibre, as imported into 
this country, has been injured and weakened. It is quite 
probable that the manner of rotting or curing, as practised 
by the natives of India, hurts the strength of the fibre ; and 
it is to be hoped that so valuable a substance may yet be 
preserved in all its native strength and beauty for the hun- 
gry market. 

SILK. 

Silk is one of the oldest fibres known in ancient history. 
In China, the tradition of the silk culture is carried back 
into the mythological periods of agriculture. 

The silk-worm is undoubtedly a native of China ; and 
the rearing of it, and the manufacture of silk in ancient 
times, seems to have been entirely confined to the Celestial 
Empire. The highest ladies of rank engaged in this occu- 
pation, whose example was soon followed by persons of all 
ranks ; and garments made from silk came into ordinary 
use. 

It eventually became known in Rome ; and an article of 
such beauty had only to be introduced into that city of gay 
and luxurious habits, to become much sought after by 
ladies of rank and opulence, to whom the use was almost 
exclusively confined, from its scarcity, caused by the high 
price and difiiculty of importation. None of the ancients 
seemed to know the nature of silk, or how it was produced . 
Some thought it a species of wool or cotton ; others, a 
down on the leaves of trees or flowers. 



Plrdc IC 



\ 



FIBRESOF NATURALSILK 

Dmuii ta- jiia(/2:UR'd .yf't '- 



J.HBrLffords LitK 



riBRILIA. 123 

At one time, the wearing of silk by men was prohibited 
by law: but a Roman emperor, disregarding this law, 
clothed himself in a garment made entirely of silk, and 
after this the wealthy citizens made general use of it ; and 
the price declined as efforts were made to import larger 
quantities. 

Greece, Sicily, and Italy each in turn took up the 
breeding of the silk-worm ; and, in all these countries, ex- 
tensive manufactures were established, and sustained by 
native production. 

The silk manufacture was introduced into France in 
1480, under the superintendence of Louis XL It was not 
prosperous ; but in 1521 a new importation of workmen 
from Milan was procured, and established at Lyons, under 
the protection of Francis I. The manufactures flourished, 
and not only supplied the demand of France, but furnished 
an abundance for foreign markets. 

The manufacture of silk appears to have been intro- 
duced into England in the 15th century, although silk had 
been in use two centuries earlier, being imported from 
France. Though the manufacture met with many draw- 
backs, from prohibitions and restrictions, and a lack of 
suitable machinery, these difficulties were finally overcome ; 
and, in 1842, British silken goods were exported into 
France^ amounting to 1^1, %2^ pounds. 

The United States presents facilities for the production 
of silk, but it has not yet been successfully accomplished. 

The matter has been brought before the public, and in- 
ducements offered by government and by private individu- 
als for the rearing of silk-worms. The production of silk 
was, in the early days of our country, particularly recom- 
mended to the northern colonies as the means of exchange 
to England for such goods as were wanted. 



124 FIBRILIA. 

Silk lias been counterfeited more than most any other 
fibre ; and the mixture has been as a general thing very 
bad, from the fact that the fibre had to be spun on long 
stapled machinery. A perfect mixture, and an economical 
method of manufacturing silk with other fibres, can only be 
done when machinery shall be so arranged as to spin the 
same in short staple, — the same as fibrilia is done. 

Georgia seems to have been most fortunate in manufac- 
turing silk ; and the raw silk exported to London sold at a 
higher price than that from any other part of the world. 
It was said to be more profitable than other kinds of ordi- 
nary business. 

In 1,760, the culture of silk was introduced into Mans- 
field, Conneeticut. It was pursued to a small extent in 
other places in New England, but Mansfield retained the 
pre-eminence. 

In 1826, Congress encouraged the culture of silk by a 
variety of means. The increasing use of this article, and 
the immense sums sent abroad for its purchase, aroused the 
attention of the people. The mulberry plant was intro- 
duced ; and, from its productiveness of foliage, great hopes 
were entertained that the silk-worms could be successfully 
reared, and the culture of silk prosper ; but the almost 
total destruction of the trees by frost caused the public to 
despond, and the impulse again relaxed. In 1838, a specu- 
lation was entered into by some unprmcipled individuals 
to force the sale of the mulberry, which proved so detri- 
mental to the already flagging interest of the people, that 
the scale of progress was turned downward from that time. 

The fibre ot silk is very smooth, and is represented in 
Plate No. 10. 



riBRILIA. 125 



CHINA GRASS. 

"China Grass," "Rheea," or "Eamee" fibre has been 
known in the English market but a few years. It is of the 
nettle species, and grows in the East Indies. Some dwarf 
plants of a similar kind grow in Europe and America. It is 
not impossible but China Grass may yet be cultivated with 
success in America. The fibre is very strong and silky ; 
and, properly prepared, it resembles silk in appearance 
more than any other fibre of vegetable growth. Royle 
says " the plant is cultivated with considerable care ; that 
it may be obtained from seeds, but more quickly by part- 
ing the roots, as it throws up numerous shoots ; that these 
may be cut down, and that fresh ones will spring up, so 
that three several crops may be obtained in the season. 
Great care is also taken in the scraping, peehng, steeping, 
and bleacliing the fibre." The first crop yields strong and 
coarse fibres ; the second and third crops, delicate fibres for 
the finer fabrics. 

The new process of making fibrilia is well adapted to 
China Grass, and will make it a more valuable fibre than 
though prepared by the old process. 



BLEACHING AND COLORING. 

The old processes of bleachmg and coloring have been 
fully described in the books, though the causes why the 
changes are produced in the appearance of the fabrics 
when acted upon have not been explained. The practical 
solution of this problem has been attempted for ages, by 



126 FIBRILIA. 

experimenters and writers ; and yet, at the present day, 
thousands of the most scientific and deeply read examiners 
of the subject seem as much in doubt, at least so far as 
their pubhshed theories represent their knowledge, as were 
the philosophers of past centuries. Perhaps there is no 
subject so important, connected with the production of 
textile fabrics, as that of coloring. It produces all the 
varieties which go to make up and support the principles 
of trade and fashion which govern textile fabrics, and 
from the earliest ages has been a subject of the most 
intense interest to humanity. Princes, potentates, and 
powers, in all their variety of influence, have been wedded 
to the mystic charms of color, and in many cases have 
sought to monopolize its use. At times it has been re- 
stricted by legal enactments, and has always been a 
most abject slave to fashion. The roi/al purple has had 
greater power within its influence than gold, and it 
intrinsic value, as a matter of commerce, has been much 
more. 

Whenever we seek from learned authors the causes 
which create and fix color, the whole volume of nature is 
opened to us as a reference in which to find the proper 
solution. We are cited to light, and then to heat, and then 
to electricity and magnetism ; and after a patient study of 
all these, if we follow the old texts, we return as ignorant 
as before to the first subject, which, hke a new finger-board, 
points to other paths of investigation. Where there is so 
much doubt thrown on the subject by renowned authors, 
it is but reasonable that all deep investigators should have, 
as by necessity they must possess, some theories of their 
own differing from others, which may be given to the 
world to general advantage for comparison. 



FIBRILIA. 127 

The author has been many years engaged, theoretically 
and practically, in investigating this subject, in connection 
with his experiments on fibres for making fibrilia ; and, as 
the practical part of them has resulted in a great improve- 
ment for the use of fibres for that article, the theories 
beyond may be of some service to others in perusing the 
subject for other purposes. 

The ideas of the author, in some respects, may seem 
strange, and his theories may be doubted. They may not 
even be original : but he has the satisfaction of knowing 
that a part of them, at least, have become very valuable, 
practically; and that their value has been discovered 
through the dawn of those theories not yet carried out or 
proven beyond his own experiments, but which were 
necessary to harmonize that part of his theory which has 
been substantiated. They have been worked out, point by 
point, like the words in a puzzle, till so much has been 
shown of the whole, that he is pretty well satisfied of the 
general results ; and he unhesitatingly gives them to the 
world. 

First, as to the process of bleaching and coloring, and 
the mechanical method of doing it ; second, the barriers 
in the way which are to be removed ; and, third, as to the 
theories in its support, wliich go beyond and affect other 
laws and organizations of matter, but a knowledge of 
which is necessary to account for color, its causes and 
effects. 

•BLEACHING. 

The object of bleaching is to purify and whiten fibrous 
substances. The old methods are so fully described in 
books, that it may be simply necessary to say, that, by soak- 



128 



riBRILIA. 



ing, boiling in water and alkaKes, washing, subjecting the 
fibre or cloth to acids, and chloride of Ume, air, Hght, heat, 
and cold, the result is produced. One method now used 
for bleaching linen in Europe will answer as an exam- 
ple : — 

Process for Bleaching Linen, 



1. steeping 12 hours in cold wa- 


18. 


Washed. 


ter. 


19. 


Exposed on grass from 2 to 4 


2. The whole is then boiled. 




days. 


3. Washed in pure water. 


20. 


Scalded with soap. 


4. Boiled 12 hours in carbonate 


21. 


Washed. 


soda, caustic lye, gumfustic 


22. 


Rubbed. 


or resinous soap. 


23. 


Washed. 


5. Exposed on grass from 4 to 8 


24. 


Exposed on grass. 


days. 


25. 


Steeped in sulphuric acid. 


6. Boiled as before. 


26. 


Washed. 


7. Washed. 


27. 


Bleaching liquor. 


8. Exposed on grass. 


28. 


Washed. 


9. Boiled. 


29. 


Scalded. 


10. Washed. 


30. 


Washed. 


11. Exposed on grass. 


31. 


Exposed on grass. 


12. Steeped in vitriol, sp. gr. 1.02. 


32. 


Steeped in sulphuric acid. 


13. Washed. 


33. 


Washed. 


14. Boiled. 


34. 


Bleaching liquor. 


15. Exposed on grass. 


35. 


Washed. 


16. Scalded. 


36. 


Dried. 


17. Soaped and rubbed. 







Although the before-named plan for bleaching linen, 
which occupies some six weeks, has been somewhat im- 
proved of late, and the process for cotton goods, both in 
this country and Europe, is not so tedious, and can be car- 
ried through in a few days, yet it is much more trouble- 
some and expensive than the new method used by the 
author, which may be thus described, — 

In bleaching, the object to be attained is : first, the solu- 



FIBRILIA. 129 

tion and removal of all gummy or oily substances that 
naturally adhere to the fibre ; and, second, the production 
of such a change in the organic matter of the fibre as will 
reflect white when exposed to the atmosphere and rays of 
light. Is white, then, a color ? The author thinks it is, 
just as much as blue or black, although produced by en- 
tirely different causes. White is produced in fibres by an 
organic change of their substance, brought about by ex- 
ternal influences so applied that they change the form of 
crystallization in the particles of matter composing the 
fibrous material acted upon, so that the particles or crys- 
tals are of different shape from what they were before, 
and therefore reflect the rays of light differently, viz., so 
as to appear perfectly white to the eye. 

COLORING. 

In coloring, the object first to be attained is the same as 
in bleaching, viz. : a removal of all foreign matters from the 
fibres and fibrils which would prevent the free circulation 
and penetration of the coloring fluids ; and, second, such 
application of coloring fluids as shall cause them to adhere 
firmly to the fibre both within and without the fibrous 
tubes, so that, when removed from the solution, and washed 
and dried, and exposed to the air and light, the crystallized 
particles thus adhering shall reflect light so as to give 
the desired colors. And that, unlike white, which is pro- 
duced by the change of the form of the crystals in the 
fibre itself, color is produced by the addition of the color- 
ing matter to the fibre, which coloring matter, by the pecu- 
liar forms of its own crystallized particles combined, in 
the aggregate, reflects the rays of light so as to produce the 
6« 



J so riBRILIA. 

desired visible result. Color, then, is caused by a mere 
form of crystallization reflecting light according to the shape 
and combinations of these crystals adhering to matter, or 
floating in water or other fluids. For instance, a com- 
bined aggregate of crystals of an octagon shape would re- 
flect one color, while a hectagon would yield another ; and 
so on to the end of the abiUty of our vision to detect dif- 
ferences in the innumerable angles of matter and the rays 
of light acting upon them. The author has no doubt of the 
existence of many more forms of color than have yet been 
recognized, simply because we have been looking in the 
wrong direction for a solution of what color really is. If 
this be so, we may expect such changes, by the discovery 
of new material for coloring, which, when combined with 
those now existing, will change the whole present estab- 
lished character of colors. The influences which produce 
white will probably be found to be very different from 
those bringing out any other color ; and, so far as the au- 
thor has examined, will prove very simple and organic, 
verging nearer to the first principle than any others. 
Other colors seem to be combined under more gaseous 
forms, like that of the ordinary atmosphere under its various 
changes, which will produce every variety of influence. 
In vegetable life, a plant springing from the ground, and 
being suffered to grow in the dark, will be nearly white ; 
while, being opened to the influences of light and air, will 
soon assume an entirely diffierent shade of color. In hght 
there must be a form of chemical action or combustion 
which does not exist in the dark, wliich will affect color, 
changing it from hour to hour and day to day, through all 
the stages with which we are familiar from the use of col- 
ored clothing. It follows then, that, in order to under- 



FIBRILIA, 131 

stand the principles which combine color, and the changes 
of the same under the influences of light, heat, and the 
ordinary atmosphere, we must study these principles. 
Time may solve the problem ; but at present we can only 
glance at the subject with a timid mind of uncertainty, 
which future hght and strength will dispel. 

The best means of bleaching and coloring which the 
author has found may be thus explained, — 

A revolving boiler, capable of sustaining a pressure of 
from two to six atmospheres, is provided, hung upon pivots 
at the ends, in which a proper man-hole is opened for the 
admission of fibres, yarns, or cloths. When the man-hole 
is closed, and it is properly secured air-tight, it is made to 
revolve horizontally ; and a shaft runs through the centre 
of the same, to which arms are attached, revolving in a 
different direction from the boiler, which carry the fibrous 
substances round with them, plunging the same alternately 
under and above the fluids, which may be let into the 
boiler. The fluids may be admitted through pipes con- 
necting with the boiler in such quantities as are desired to 
effect the object, but not so as to fill the boiler more than 
half-full of liquid ; and a column of steam or compressed 
air may be let in, in sufficient quantity to create a pressure 
of from thirty to ninety pounds per square inch in the 
boiler ; and the boiler is then made to revolve, passing 
the fibres above and beneath the liquid, and subject to the 
pressure. The effect of this will be to dissolve all foreign 
matter, and remove it from the fibre, so that it can be 
drawn off. The colors are then let into the boiler, and 
are treated the same way, under pressure, till the fibre is 
freely saturated ; after which it can be taken out, washed, 
and dried, and is fit for use. The pressure will cause the 



133 FIBRILIA. 

crystals in the color to adhere with great tenacity to the 
outer surface of the fibre, as well as to penetrate all the 
tubes in such fibrils as have them. In coloring wool, flax, 
hemp, China grass, and other like substances which are 
tubular, but little difficulty exists in fixing the colors : but 
in cotton, which has lost its tubular shape, it is much harder, 
as only an external surface is presented to hold the color, 
which is not only affected more easily by the wear of the 
outer surface, from its special nature, but from the influ- 
ences of light and air immediately in contact with the 
color ; while, in tubular fibrils, a protection is provided by 
the walls of the tube itself, which keep out both air and 
direct light. The tube being transparent, the crystals 
reflect a different color from within, than what would 
show from the external surface alone coming in direct 
contact with light and air. 

That the currents of light, heat, magnttism, and elec- 
tricity through the air, earth, or water around us, are con- 
stantly at the work of consolidation, and that the same 
parent principle which has created and now holds the 
sphere of worlds in her hand with such harmony and 
beauty, is the same which governs the growth and perfec- 
tion of the flax-stalk in all its perfection, whether look- 
ing at its anatomical form, the color of its flowers, or 
the infinitesimal principles of organic life which exists in 
one simple grain of the glumien which cements its fibres 
together. The influences of color come very near our 
highest organs of sensation, and spread through all the 
ramifications of our existence. Our affections, our en- 
thusiasm, and our noblest principles are brought out and 
find expression under the influences of these changes in 
our vision. The fields of beauty are full at every turn ; 



riBRILIA. 133 

and they open to our inspiration new lines of enjoyment 
at every step, under the attractions in nature and art 
which hght and shade -present. Is it remarkable that we 
should want to know what color is, or desire any new 
powers of investigation that would develop a better know- 
ledge of its principles ? 

The cause of this crystallization, whether in the atmo- 
sphere, vapor, or solid substances, and which results in that 
state or condition of matter which reflects color, the author 
thinks is the active interposition of an element not gene- 
rally known or recognized in the scientific world ; viz., a 
primary element or fluid emanating from the sun, which 
the author, for convenience' sake, calls " actien," or the first 
principle. 

That this fluid, or with us original principle, flows from 
the sun, either in all directions through the solar system, 
or in concentrated rays exclusively upon the planets of its 
creation in straight lines, carrying neither light nor heat 
as it travels through space, these elements being only 
generated within the circle of the atmosphere surrounding 
the planet when the fluid pervades the same ; the contact 
instantly causing a combustion, producing the changes 
which we enjoy in their various phases, together with elec- 
tricity and magnetism in the forms of which we know 
their use and power, with a thousand other conditions 
existing in the chemical and geological combinations which 
surround us on every hand, many forms of which are be- 
yond our present comprehension. That this fluid compre- 
hends the origin of the whole planetary system, beginning 
from a vaporous or analogous condition similar to what is 
now supposed to form a cometary system, and following it 
up by condensation and consoHdation until all the forms 



134 FIBRILIA. 

of matter are created of which we have any knowledge, 
and graduating their orbit according to the density of these 
planets for the time being ; the eccentricity of the orbit 
diminishing as the density of the planet increases. 

That the electric and magnetic fluids, which seem to be 
most subtile of all acknowledged agents at the present time, 
are not in reality primary elements as they exist, but rather 
that they are creations from a first power more subtile than 
they, which is of itself the primary in the creation of our 
globe, and from which both electricity and magnetism are 
created through contact with the earth and its atmospheric 
surroundings. 

That from this fluid or primary element proceeds all the 
physical consequences connected with the origin, subse- 
quent changes, or present condition of an earth and its 
atmosphere, which would be observed in its annual passage 
around the sun, or its diurnal revolutions on its own axis. 

That the result of the motion of this fluid toward and 
its precipitation upon the planet, is to propel it in its orbit 
around the sun, as well as to create a diurnal motion on its 
own axis, at right angles with the Hne of the current ; keep- 
ing always the same point of polarity toward the sun, 
thereby causing a constant magnetic current in the same 
direction throut^h the earth, and proving, that, if that cur- 
rent should be mtroduced at the opposite pole, the motion 
of the earth upon its own axis would be immediately 
reversed. 

That the form of magnetic attraction which really com- 
prehends the law of attraction and gravitation is established, 
and for the time being is maintained, by the peculiar forms 
and results of the working of all the variations and sub- 
divisions of these laws, as they are partially shown to us 



FIBRILIA. 135 

through all the ramijScations or changes in our system. 
That the form of combination of this fluid with other sub- 
stances is instantly checked, and the elements lay in a 
semi-dormant state, when any physical obstacle of greater 
density than the atmosphere shall interpose to break its 
current directly toward any part of the surface of the earth 
on which we may stand. Thus, when the sun shall have 
sunk beneath the western horizon, the Hue of the same 
interposes an obstacle in the way of a free traverse of the 
fluid towards a more eastern point of the earth's surface, 
and darkness in its various forms intervenes. 

The density and power of this fluid is measured upon 
the objects of its concentrated force, in different degrees, 
according to their distance from the sun ; all conforming to 
the acknowledged laws of attraction and gravitation, so far 
as the planetary system is concerned, but entirely contra- 
dicting the theory of the density of the sun itself, which 
must be many times greater than the present theoretic 
estimate. 

That the established theory of a uniform measure of 
attraction of gravitation between the equator and the poles 
cannot be correct ; and that the discrepancy must be sup- 
plied by a form of magnetic attraction not yet acknowledged, 
but must be brought in to meet the demands of centrifugal 
and centripetal forces existing on the line of the equator. 

That the magnetic pole, varying in position from the 
geographical pole, where it should naturally exist, is caused 
by the difference in density between a solid and a fluid or 
open pole, carrying the magnetic pole where it is now 
really found, near the edge of the great solid pole. 

The acknowledgment of these laws would account for 
the difference in temperature of the atmosphere between 



136 FIBRILIA. 

the poles and the equator, and the tropical and polaric 
influences of each as now understood. 

It would also account for the aurora borealis, the rain- 
bow, the refraction of light, the reflection of heat, and the 
automatic formation of color. 

What are light, heat, and cold ? "Who has not asked 
questions like this a thousand times, with no satisfactory- 
answer from the books ? We know that heat produces an 
opposite feehng to cold on our senses, and from that may 
judge that the two elements are constantly at war 
with each other ; that in summer heat, and in winter cold, 
prevails in a majority ; and a great part of the effort of 
life is to create an equilibrium by artificial means. We 
suppose these changes in the temperature and seasons are 
produced by the different positions of parts of the earth to 
the sun in certain conditions of its orbit. But would these 
conditions of heat and cold exist if we were really 
supplied by heat in its present form, — by currents of 
caloric from the sun itself, — which must, in that case, 
come in such volumes as to wholly envelop us at all 
times, and flow with great velocity to every part of the 
earth, equalizing the temperature as it goes ? And 
would not the diameter of the earth, even, prove but 
a small impediment in the way of the universal current or 
its course, when compared in size with the distance from 
the cause or fountain of that heat ? Would not that heat 
be spent in going through space, so that, on its arrival at 
the earth, its force would be less than on its start or mid- 
way from the sun ? If so, how can we account for the 
fact, that, the farther we ascend from the surface of the 
earth, the colder we find it ? Is it not more probable that 
the fluid coming from the sun is neither luminous nor hot, 



FIBRILIA. 137 

and that these conditions are mere results of the combina- 
ti<5n of that fluid with other elements which surround the 
globe at a short distance from its surface ? If this theory 
is correct, the volume of heat surrounding the earth must 
be much less than though it came in such quantities from 
the sun ; and that would account for the great changes of 
the seasons, which could only be so great from a much 
more diminished supply of caloric than must exist around 
us if the volume comes in the shape we sense it directly 
from the sun ? May we not reasonably suppose that the 
changes of heat and cold around us are produced by a 
diminished combustion of the first principle in winter, and 
an enlarged one in summer, from the fact that the rays of 
actien from the sun in summer are less interrupted, and 
flow in greater volumes to our position of the earth, than 
in winter, from the fact that the sun runs lower towards 
the horizon in winter, and will not admit so large a volume 
of that principle flowing in straight lines upon us ? and 
that, when we feel cooler, it is because there is too little of 
combustion, and the fluid comes to us in a more raw state, 
and, Avlien we feel too warm, it is because the combustion 
is too great, and flows too fast, — one principle constantly 
absorbing or changing the other ? 

Philosophers have told us, in the present as well as past 
ages, that light and heat come from the sun, which is a 
luminous body, and that both travel certain distances in 
a given time ; that it would take a certain number of thou- 
sand tons of coal, burned upon each square yard of the 
sun's surface, per hour, for all time, to give us the amount 
of heat which we require and get daily ; that the heat at 
the nearest point of aj^proach of one of the comets was 
equal to six times that of molten iron ; and yet that the 



138 FIBRILIA. 

density of the sun is mucli less than that of the earth! 
By this theory, does not the density of the sun have to»be 
re-estimated every time a new comet or planet is disco- 
vered, in order to make the law perfect, as the burden of 
its attractive properties must of course be mcreased? 
Such thoughts and questions have arisen in the author's 
mind, as probably in thousands of others ; and the before- 
expressed theory is his answer so far as it goes. If he is 
wrong, he will be most happy to learn from those who 
have gone farther in their investigations, and can give 
more consistent reasons for the cause of light, heat, or 
color. Until then, he will be content to think that the air 
we breathe, the life-sustaining power which flows from 
shrub to shrub and flower to flower to-day, combine the 
same electric chain which to-morrow climbs the mountain- 
glen, and there, 'neath the moon's pale light, congeals the 
crystal quartz. 



RESOURCES OF THE UNITED STATES FOR 
FIBROUS MATERIAL. 

The versatility of the soil and climate in the United 
States is peculiarly adapted to raising flax and similar 
fibres in large quantities ; and probably within the present 
century she will produce an amount of fibre, as compared 
to which the present product of the whole world will seem 
but small. 

These peculiarities do not apply to the exclusive growth 
of fibrous substances, but to most all others now known as 
articles of commerce, whether needed either for food or 
manufactures. Many productions of tropical growth have 



riBRILIA. 139 

already been successfully introduced ; and it is to be hoped 
that many others will gradually be acclimated, until our 
country may become, as it ought, the "garden of the 
world." 

Certain it is that its peculiarities will tell in some 
measure upon productions yet to be brought out, in new 
chemical combinations in accordance with that mysterious 
law which has proved its soil and climate quite different 
from that in any other part of the world in the same lati- 
tude, and under the same apparent physical influences. 
Both heat and cold, as well as the humidity of the atmos- 
phere, seem governed by local, electrical, or magnetic in- 
fluences. The grains are more abundant and diversified 
than in any other part of the world. Barley will grow 
from Lapland to the equator. Rye will thrive almost as 
far north as barley. Oats, as far as 55° north. Wheat, 
50^ north. Indian corn, 47^ north to Rio de la Plata in 
South America. Rice is confined to the Southern States. 
Orange, lemon, citron, and pomegranate on the eastern 
continent, 20^ 50 ' north ; and nearly as far north on the 
western continent. Sugar, cotton, tobacco, and indigo, 
between 30^ south and 44^ north. Apples, pears, and 
plums, on the eastern continent, between 6 and 40° north ; 
on the western continent, they extend still farther each 
way. Flax and hemp flourish best between 30 ' and 65° 
north. 

The tea-plant has already been introduced successfully 
from China ; and hence it may be inferred that spices, cin- 
namon, pepper, cloves, and nutmeg, ginger, &c., now found 
for the most part on the islands south of Plindostan, China, 
and Japan, may yet be acclimated. Fibrous plants for 
manufactures are very abundant all over the United States ; 



140 FIBRILIA. 

but few of them comparatively have yet been developed. 
But it is easy to prove that many fibres now suffered to go 
to waste in various parts of the country can be readily cul- 
tivated to a profit. Many of them will make good paper, 
which are not of sufficient length for spinning. A perfect 
diffusion of water in any country and climate like ours will 
prove its great fertilizer ; and in that respect our own land 
is pecuharly blessed. There is no lack of this element in 
any part of the country, to supply the absorption of the 
soil, or the evaporation that shall rise and diffuse itself 
through the thirsty air to be absorbed by vegetation. 

The immense table lands and teiTaces, beginning near 
the ocean's level and terminating in the Rocky Mountains, 
afford steps pointing to every part of the country, down 
which the melting ice and snow travel from the great re- 
servoir of congelation at the top, to the lowlands at their 
intersection with the ocean at every point both north and 
south, east and west. 

These channels will never close within the possible an- 
ticipations of our race. Terraces thus formed are interest- 
ing to contemplate in their magnitude and interest. They 
are only touched by the footsteps of time. The most im- 
portant of them is cut by the Niagara and St. Lawrence 
rivers. From a point near the mouth of the Saguenay, at 
its intersection with the St. Lawrence, there was once 
a great natural barrier extending north and south to 
intervening high lands, which held in one great basin the 
waters of the upper St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario, some 
three hundred and fifty feet higher than their present ele- 
vation. Another basin of the same kind stretched across 
the foot of Lake Erie by what is now called the Lewiston 
Ridge, extending north to about forty degrees of latitude, 



FIBRILIA. 141 

and south till it intersected Chataque Ridge, which elevated 
the waters of Lake Erie, Huron, St. Clair, and Michigan 
nearly to the present level of Lake Superior, which is some 
twenty-two feet higher than they now are. When these 
mighty barriers were cut by the Niagara and St. Lawrence, 
many hundred thousand square miles of water disappeared, 
and fertile fields for future agriculture took their place. 
Western New York, northern Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, 
and parts of northern Indiana and Illinois were drained ; 
leaving some of the best lands in the West now open for 
cultivation. Many parts of the prairie lands of the West 
still lie but about from seven to ten feet above the level 
of Lake Michigan. The same changes, in a more limited 
sense, extended to other parts of the country, as now 
shown by the beds of the Chesapeake, Potomac, Delaware, 
Susquehanna ; and of greater magnitude in the course of 
the Missouri and Mississippi. Farther west, towards the 
Rocky Mountains, there is a great table land or water 
shed, which is the source of the Mississippi which opens 
to the south ; also, the Red River of the north, which tra- 
vels towards the North Pole till it falls into Hudson's Bay ; 
and a smaller called the St. Louis River, which empties 
into Lake Superior. These three rivers take their rise 
near each other within the present geographical bounda- 
ries of Minnesota ; at times the Mississippi and the Red 
River of the north almost interlock with each near their 
sources ; and the same thing occurs as between the Wis- 
consin River which connects with the Mississippi and the 
western lakes. On the northern shore of Lake Superior, 
an immense bog exists, which is of such a sponge-like con- 
sistency that it is said to rise and fall with the level of the 
lake, and to hold a vast amount of water not estimated in 



14:2 FlBRILiA. 

the waters of Lake Superior. Even if these lakes were 
drained, a very uneven surface of land would be re- 
vealed, perhaps partaking somewhat of the shape of those 
already above the surface. Lake Superior is 968 feet 
in its mean depth, or 348 feet below the level of the 
ocean. Lake Michigan is 869 feet deep, or 279 feet below 
the level of the ocean. Lake Huron is 811 feet deep, or 
241 feet below the level of the ocean. Wliile Lake Erie 
has only a mean depth of 81 feet, and would thus be about 
475 feet above the level of the ocean. It would take a 
cut through the bottom of Lake Erie of 489 feet in depth to 
reduce Lake Huron down to the level oT the ocean. A 
more astonishing rise in the bed of the lakes than these 
exist between Lake Erie and Chataque Lake, which is only 
12 miles distant from Lake Erie, and which is some 800 
feet higher. The present cutting of the gorge at Niagara, 
if carried to Lake Erie, would fall some 250 feet below 
the bed of Lake Erie. Some of the smaller rivers of the 
South, like the Alabama, Tennessee, Red, Colorado, and 
Rio Grande, cut through a system of terraces, the same as 
those described nearer the mountains, but as a general 
thing through an entire different character of soil, the 
same being much more alluvial, and but little above the 
level of the ocean. On the west of the Rocky Mountains, 
the sources of the Columbia, Frazer, Rio Colorado, and 
other important rivers, present nearly the same cutting by 
time's resistless chisel, opening not only a soil of the first 
class for cultivation, but untold wealth in mineral produc- 
tions, yielding to the same law of denudation. These chan- 
nels have and will water the North American continent 
with a sufficiency for all purposes of agriculture and manu- 
factures to the end of time, and with a product equivalent 



FIBRILIA. 143 

to the support of two thousand milHon inhabitants. Within 
this vast area there are mountains which cleave the very- 
heavens, and pierce the gathering clouds, which precipitate 
their misty burdens on their sides, opening countless 
avenues to the larger gathering streams below, supplying 
the great arterial pulsation as perfectly as through the hu- 
man frame. In winter these mountains catch the first 
congealed snows which fall, and open them again in distil- 
lation, earlier in the spring than they melt below. 

The distribution of these streams of water through every 
part of the country, and in the western part of the same, 
with immense waterfalls, together with the wide diffusion 
of inexhaustible beds of coal, will furnish any conceivable 
amount of motive power that future ages can demand. 
And the broad acres of fertile lands, under the vari- 
ations of cKmate within the territory of the United States, 
when properly tilled, will furnish all materials for manu- 
factures of which the human mind can conceive the use. 
A reasonable proportion of these will ever be used for the 
production of fibres ; and, in addition to flax and hemp, 
which have been enumerated among the present available 
products for making fibrilia, many others, and perhaps 
hundreds, will yet be added. 

The Northern and North- Western States can raise flax 
or hemp, and other fibres for making fibriUa, in large 
quantities, without interfering with any staple crop at 
present raised. If we should take from the tillable lands 
of each state one quarter, and devote it to the cultivation 
of flax, and estimate the product as one bale of fabrilia, of 
500 lbs to the acre, which would be a small estimate, the 
aggregate would be 16,003,809 bales, and would be 
apportioned nearly as follows, — 



144 



FIBRILIA. 



Maine 509,899 

New Hampshire, . . 562,872 

Vermont, 650,352 

Massachusetts, . . . 533,359 

Rhode Island, . . . 89,121 

Connecticut, .... 442,044 

New York, .... 3,102,241 

New Jersey. .... 441,997 

Pennsylvania, . . . 2,157,154 

Delaware, 145,215 

Total number of Bales, of 500 



Maryland, . . 








699,476 


Ohio, . . . 








2,462,873 


Michigan, . . 








482,277 


Indiana, . 








1,261,635 


Illinois, . . 








1,259,886 


Missouri, . 








. 734,606 


Iowa, . . 








. 206,170 


Wisconsin, 








261,374 


Minnesota, 


• 






1,258 


lbs. each, . . 






16,003,809 



The value of this, cottonized at the mill, would be 

10 cents per lb., or ^50 per bale, making .... $800,190,450 

The seed from the crop, at market, would be at $1 per 

bushel, 240,057,135 



$1,040,247,585 



Many of the States may find it convenient to change the 
pro rata of their product above or below the apportion- 
ment ; but the estimate will give a good idea of what may 
be done if necessary, by way of fibrous productions, in the 
North. 

An able article in the " North American Review," of the 
current quarter, before alluded to in the quotation from 
the " New York Times," was written by Hon. E. H. Derby, 
of Boston, and treats very fully of cotton, its growth and 
manufacture. Mr. Derby, in his article, has given a table 
showing the average weight of bales of cotton in all 
countries where it is produced. 



Bales of the United States, 443 lbs. 

'* ♦' East Indies, 387 " 

Egypt, 313 " 

'* Brazil, 181 " 

" West Indies, 175 " 



FIBRILIA. 145 

The cotton crop of the South, now about four and one- 
half miUion bales, may be much increased by going over 
a larger area ; but little improvement will be made in in- 
creasing the amount per acre, if we judge from past expe- 
rience. The average amount of fibrilia per acre will be 
somewhat more than cotton, and will cost less. The spe- 
cific gravity of flax being greater than cotton, the same 
number of pounds of cotton would make the greater 
number of yards of cloth, were it not for the greater waste 
in cotton, which gives fibrilia the advantage in that respect. 
The cotton-plant needs much more care than flax in rais- 
ing, and during its growth requires the repeated use of the 
plough and hoe ; while flax needs but little attention after 
it is once sown. The labor of picking the seed-cotton per 
acre is more than all the labor on flax till it is broken, and 
the linten is ready for market. 

One hand and two horses can gin one thousand pounds 
of cotton per day ; and the modern flax-machine can break 
about two tons of flax per day, with four horses and two 
men. The adaptation of machinery for enlarging the 
cultivation of cotton is rather problematical, and will not 
materially enlarge the crop on the same amount of land. 

From the above it will be seen that the means of supply 
for fibrous material is adequate to any demand, for the 
present century at least ; and the outlay for this purpose 
will be quite small for machinery for its use. One of the 
great objects of producing fibrilia in its present shape is to 
enable the manufacturer to spin it on cotton and woollen 
machinery. 

The cost of a brake and a scutcher for farm use will be 
not far from $500 ; and one set of such machinery will 
answer for a large neighborhood. 



146 FIBRILIA. 

The seed from flax will pay all expenses of cultivation, 
and yield a small profit beside, to be added to the value of 
the fibre, and feed from the straw, — which in the aggregate 
will render it a profitable crop to the farmer. 

Well-cultivated lands will yield two tons of straw per 
acre, and twenty -five bushels of seed. 

The seed in New England is worth 51.50 per bushel, or . . 537.50 
The straw in New England is worth, unrotted, ^10 per ton, . 20.00 

557.50 

If the unrotted straw is broken on the farm, two tons will 

yield 1000 lbs. of linten, worth in New England, . . . ^40.00 

And 2500 lbs. of unrotted shives, which make the best of food 

for cattle, worth, 20.00 

Seed from two tons of straw, twenty-five bushels, .... 37.50 

597.50 

One ton of good flax straw will make 400 lbs. of pure 
fibrilia. 



THE WORKING MEN AND WOMEN OF THE 
NORTH. 

The distinctions in society between the institutions of the 
North and the South, as well as the domestic and social con- 
ditions of the people in all parts of the country, have been 
often commented upon by the press, and discussed in pri- 
vate circles, but have left one portion of the people much 
in the shade, and but little understood by those engaged in 
other spheres of action. It is often said that the southern 
planter looks upon the free white tiller of his own so' 
an inferior being, and so the female of the South 
the matron who attends daily to her own domestic 



riBRILlA. 147 

If this is so, it is not for the want of the power of apprecia- 
tion, or lack of sympathy, on the part of the southern gen- 
tleman and lady, but simply from the fact that they are 
not acquainted with those of the North, and their real con- 
dition, and motives of labor. They neither understand 
their principles, talents, or the measure of their intelligence, 
education, or moral principle. 

To a great extent, the people of the North misunder- 
stand the people of the South in the same way ; and, by 
these two errors in social and political life, the people of 
different sections of the Union are constantly in conflict 
with each other. A more grievous error even than this 
wrong is chargeable directly to the people of the North, in 
not sympathising with or understanding and appreciating 
the true condition of each other. The working men or 
women of the North are nowhere less understood than by 
their own people, and this as to their consequence, princi- 
ples, talents, or education. 

Baglning upon the pinnacle of that fictitious and fashion- 
able life which pervades and controls large cities, and run- 
ning back through every grade of life and labor which 
belongs to ordinary existence, there is first a want of 
knowledge, and second a want of appreciation and sym- 
pathy with and for the masses, behind or below the re- 
quired castes and conditions of society, which disgraces the 
heart and intelligence of those who are able and do pass 
life in luxurious dissipation. 

Great injustice is often done to the masses under this 
evil, and most unwarrantable oppressions follow as a con- 
sequence. The farmer and mechanic are looked upon 
by many with a spirit of indifference or contempt which is 
intolerable. The factory operative, whether male or 



148 FIBRILIA. 

female, is classed under the same head, although possess- 
ing moral worth, talent, intelligence, and intrinsic merit, 
equal to any class for sustaining the national power and 
profit. The commercial, financial, scientific, and literary 
support of all large cities in the Northern States comes 
from this very class ; and experience has proved, that, but 
for the constant recuperation from this portion of the popu- 
lation of the country, the cities would fall to decay. A 
majority of the distinguished of all classes, — the statesman, 
the professional man, and the merchant, — have all come 
from the country, and have graduated from the farm and 
the workshop ; and yet these great reservoirs of physical, 
mental, and moral leaven are neither understood nor ap- 
preciated. The farmer who, by his own hand, gets his 
living from the soil, sends his children to school, and 
teaches them to labor, and to learn practically the great 
natural lessons of life, becon^es then the primary support 
of the nation, — its intelligence and its glory. The mecha- 
nic who toils at the forge or the bench for his daily bread, 
and rears children at his side that are familiar early with the 
use of tools, and the toils of manual labor, with perhaps but 
three months' schooling per year, often does more for his 
country and society than the wealth of the millionaire. The 
girl or boy thus brought up, familiar with nature and all her 
stern realities, and who subsequently may become an opera- 
tive in a factory or workshop, is as likely, and more, to 
become the parent of children that shall be a blessing to 
humanity, as those who from childhood have been 
raised in luxury This class, too, have been, and still 
are, the pillars of human progress. They furnish the 
strong physical constitutions that replenish the nation's 
decay. They furnish the bone and sinew that bring 



riBRILIA, 149 

forth the fruits of the land upon which we exist,— 
the mechanical skill for the production of the necessaries 
and luxuries of life, and the consequent moral and physi- 
cal strength which recuperates society, and cements it 
together. In addition to this, they possess all the real 
capital which upholds the present financial system. Each 
one of these, by their labors, support many others engaged 
in mere artificial and metaphysical life, who have become 
so far deluded by the customs of business, society, and the 
influences of the almighty dollar, that they do not even 
know the power that built them up, or comprehend the rea- 
sons for the sudden overthrow sure to follow an artificial and 
fictitious state of things in the financial world. If the 
money belonging to the working classes of New England 
was drawn from the Savings Bank, and converted into 
specie, the amount in all the banks would not pay fifty cents 
on the dollar, and they would be left bankrupt in twenty- 
four hours. And still the artificial world lives on the paper 
currency, created by this very specie, owned by the hard 
workers, whom, in return, they would crush down to the 
smallest pittance for their daily labor. New England, in 
this, is greatly at fault; and the day of retribution is at 
hand. " The laborer is worthy of his liire, " and 
coming time will show that the real standard has been too 
long kept out of sight. More of the sons of New England 
must go to the farm and the workshop, and less to the 
professional and non^^roducing avocations of hfe ; thus re- 
gaining the glorious influence which she has had in past 
days, when it was her pride to dignify labor and eschew 
fanaticism. The middling-interest man is becoming more 
familiar with his own measure and value, and Nature for 
him is asserting his rights, in creating that equilibrium 



150 riBRILIA. 

which restores each to their proper place in the affairs of life. 
The present fictitious state of business cannot much longer 
exist, and things must come down where they belong. 
Honest labor must have its reward, and monopolies must 
sink. The mechanical interests of the country will be sim- 
plified, and the producer and consumer will come nearer 
together. 

A class in the community, floating between actual labor 
and a settled means of support, are at times made to suffer 
by neglect and want more than those who absolutely live 
" by the hand to the plough." Among this class there 
is the greatest misery existing. They need the care and 
sympathy of all classes combined, and should be provided 
for by contributions from all. 

Leaders in the " Boston Herald " and " Commercial 
Bulletin," of recent date, are worthy of attention, and read 
as follows, viz. : — 

The Claims of the Masses. — "We have been so long in the habit of 
considering ourselves as the most favored community on the face of 
the earth, that we are too apt to forget that even in our own land, and 
at the very threshold of our doors, there is much misery and want that 
could and ought to be relieved. To say nothing of the selfish and 
vindictive passions which are systematically cultivated by a large por- 
tion of our community, until they destroy every vestige of manliness 
in the character, there are multitudes all around us, who are con- 
stantly suffering privations, which a little effort on the part of their 
more favored brethren would easily remove. The tendency of the 
present times is to concentrate capital in the hands of the wealthy, 
and to make the condition of the poor man more wretched with each 
revolving day. The vast improvements in machinery which are so 
rapidly displacing manual labor would, within the next half century, en- 
able the mass of the community to subsist with but a very few hours la- 
bor per day ; but, unfortunately, the politics and economical laws of the 
present day crowd the laboring classes to the lowest stipend on which 
they can possibly exist. Should this policy continue, the prospect 



FIBRILIA. 151 

ahead is not very favorable for the laboring classes. So long as it is 
believed that nothing but the almighty dollar deserves the attention 
of human beings, so long will capital trample down labor, and defeat 
the wise ends under which Providence is guiding our people in their 
scientific attainments. This paramount importance which all of us 
assign to wealth is the cause of the difficulties which the poorer 
classes are obliged to contend with. While on the one hand it stimu- 
lates industry and enterprise, on the other it loses sight of the fact 
that relaxation is as necessary to the system as work. We have, to be 
sure, benevolent societies and philanthropic individuals who are ever 
ready to relieve those great evils which stare us in the face ; but po- 
verty, sickness, and other suffering, which is unobtrusive, and there- 
fore more deserving of relief, we pass by, and too generally allow 
ourselves to remain ignorant of its existence. We boast of our insti- 
tutions for the relief of the insane and sick, and this is well ; but do 
we take the pains to find out who would be the most benefited by these 
institutions ? We congratulate ourselves upon our free schools ; but 
the hundreds of boys and girls who for want of proper clothing cannot 
attend school furnish but a poor commentary upon our self gratulation. 
We talk of our industry and enterprise, and profess to furnish employ- 
ment, at remunerating prices, to those who are destitute of work ; but 
these professions lose their force when we reflect that multitudes of 
of seamstresses and laborers toil from week to week, for a series of 
years, without being able to procure a decent subsistence. All these 
things are wrong. The poor need the personal, kind attention of 
their more fortunate brethren ; and, were these so disposed, their con- 
dition would be very materially improved at little or no expense. If 
the truly benevolent, those who neither ask nor expect any reward for 
their efforts, would interest themselves personally to relieve the wants 
of the poor and the oppressed, much of the poverty and more of the 
crime that exists among us would quickly disappear. It needs but 
right hearts, directed by sound heads. The subjects for this benevo- 
lence are all around us, and the lover of his kind can find them in 
every street. Who does not know some one or more, who, by misdi- 
rected powers, has been a sufferer for years? Let such take theip 
neighbor by the hand, and by wise and kind counsel induce him to 
improve his condition. Such an effort, in the proper spirit, cannot be 
unsuccessful ; and the benefactor will find that his reward will more 
than equal that of his beneficiary. We would not make this the mo- 
tive for the effort; but the law of nature will make the reward certain, 
and the more so the less the benefactor expects it. 



152 riBRILIA. 

Laboring Classes of New Eyigland. — Without speaking disparag- 
ingly of any other country, or making an invidious distinction between 
this and any other section of our own country, we propose to consider 
the present condition of the laboring classes of New England, and the 
relation which they bear to the social, industrial, commercial, and in- 
tellectual well being of the whole country. We take New England, 
not because all the merit in this direction belongs to her (though to 
the Pilgrims belong the credit of first giving reality to the dignity of 
labor), but because the facts and statistics necessary to our argument 
are more full and reliable than either in the Middle or Western States, 

At a time when similar troubles were brooding, from similar causes. 
Mr. Webster, in the United States Senate, said : — 

" Why, who are the laboring people of the North ? They are the 
whole North. They are the people who till their own farms with their 
own hands ; freeholders, educated men, independent men." 
*' Five-sixths of the whole property of the North is in the hands of the 
laborers of the North : they cultivate their farms, they educate their 
children, they provide the means of independence. If they are not 
freeholders, they earn wages: these wages accumulate, are turned 
into capital, into new freeholds ; and small capitalists are created. 
Such is the case and such the course of things among the industrious 
and frugal." 

Such was the indignant response of the great statesman to an in- 
sidious comparison between the laboring classes of the North, and 
those who are recognized as the laboring classes elsewhere. 

It was one of his majestic outbursts, intended to cover the whole 
ground, and to annihilate at once his opponents' assumption, while it 
forbade all attempt to cross question upon details. We believe, how- 
ever, these details would be interesting, — are especially interesting at 
this time, when mistaken notions with regard to the resources of the 
laboring classes at the North may be productive of great evil, and 
while a correct estimate might be equally productive of great good. 

The term "laboring classes," however, as Mr. Webster uses the 
terra, is too comprehensive for our present purposes. We shall there- 
fore confine ourselves to that class which comes within the exact de- 
finition, — as those who let themselves on hire, — as we presume it 
is this class who beset the imagination of our friends at the South 
when they say the laboring classes are raising the cry of " bread or 
blood ! " 

What is the present condition of this class and what are their im- 
mediate resources ? 



FIBRILIA. 



153 



We see by the recent report made to this State that there are 

saving banks, and the aggregate deposits in these are over thirty-nine 
millions of dollars, — a sum that, if equally divided, would give over 
thirty-three dollars to every man, woman, and child in the State ; and 
yet this sum, great as it is, does not represent all the available re- 
sources of this class in our community. In nearly every town in the 
State, the journeyman mechanic, the day laborer, the factory operative, 
and the servant-girl, has money lent out on interest which escapes the 
eye of the assessor, the aggregate of which cannot be estimated ; and 
from these resources they seldom draw to meet temporary wants. In 
the upheaving of things in 1857 and 1858, the fact was brought to 
light that a very considerable portion of the stock in our large manu- 
factories was owned in single shares by the operatives employed to 
work in them. 

In the early history of our railroad enterprise, when investments 
in this direction were looked upon as the safest, the farmer's son 
worked over time till he got a hundred dollars, and bought a share of 
railroad stock ; the young girl who braided straw and knit socks in 
winter, and taught scho j1 in summer, did the same ; and so on through 
the whole list. And, through all the financial revulsions and stock 
depreciations, a very large proportion of these have never changed 
hands. 

So too, in the towns on either Cape, the laboring classes are indivi- 
dual ship-owners : every dollar is saved up till a hundred is accumu- 
lated, and then a company is formed, often of sixty-four, who build or 
purchase a vessel. Their individuality is lost sight of to the world ; 
it is merged in those who hold the nominal control, — who represent 
them as the president and directors represent individual interests in 
our banks, factories, and railroad. These are the representatives of 
the laboring classes of the New England States, and these are their 
resources. 

It is idle to talk about the extremity of the laboring classes at the 
North ; that extremity can never happen except in universal ruin. If 
such extremity as is talked of could possibly occur anywhere here, it 
would be in our large cities, where the foreign population represents 
the majority of the laboring classes ; but even here, if the deposits in 
our savings institutions are correct indices, it will be seen they are 
amply provided against such a contingency. 

Whatever may be the condition of the Irishman at home, when he 
gets here his avarice is sharpened by opportunities to earn money, 
and he lays it up. The sober, industrious Irishman in Boston becomes 
. 7* 



154 riBRILIA. 

m 

a man of wealth : he has his rent-roll, he builds houses and owns 
ships, — and yet passes for a day-laborer, and is a day-laborer. The 
position is not looked upon as degrading ; he is not pointed out with 
that mean distinction which separates him socially from wealth and 
influence acquired otherwise. He exercises all the functions of a 
citizen, and his ambition springs from this. He knows that caste is not 
recognized here to that degree which is able to shut him out from the 
highest distinctions, so be it that he is willing to work for them. He 
is eligible to a seat in the councils of the nation, the state, and the 
town ; and there he is found to-day, exercising his influence, and prov- 
ing the wide-spread blessings which arise from an equal division of 
property brought about by the proper appreciation of labor. When 
the laboring classes at the North, especially in New England, and 
more particularly in Massachusetts, raise the cry of " bread or blood," 
and attack the distinctive rich classes ; when they threaten destruction 
to our factories ; when they seize upon our banking-houses, and break 
open the vaults, for whatever reason, — they will simply destroy pro- 
perty which their own industry has accumulated, and nearly seven- 
eighths of which is actually owned by them. 

When we speak of the recuperative energies of Massachusetts, of 
New England, of the North, we mean the energies of the laboring 
classes, — the fishermen, the farmers, the mechanics, the operatives in 
our factories, and the day-laborers ; the very classes represented by 
that class to whom Burke referred when he told the British Ministry, 
** Such thrift can take care of itself; it needs no protection, it is depen- 
dent upon no circumstances, it contains within itself the germ of suc- 
cess, it spreads and does not contract, and is not to be conquered by 
human power." 

Contrast the condition of the laboring classes in England and on 
the continent, and everywhere where the dignity of labor is not re- 
cognized, with the laboring classes here, and see what the general 
measure of intelligence is in the former, as compared with the latter. 

Wealth can never accumulate to the prejudice of the masses where 
labor rises to the dignity of a calling. Such is eminently the position 
of things among the masses here in New England. Those institutions 
which are the peculiar boast of New England have sprung from, and 
are maintained by, the laboring classes. Where is there such a sys- 
tem of free schools as that of Massachusetts ? Look, too, at the elee- 
mosynary institutions and corporations scattered all through the 
state. Contemplate for a moment the great sums collected in our 
churches for the spread of the gospel, not only in our land but through 



FIBMLIA. 155 

the world. These are not controlled by government, nor fixed by law ; 
nor are we indebted for them to any privileged class, but they come 
as the free gift of the laboring masses, who regard them as means of 
mutual good and mutual improvement. The very genius of republi- 
can institutions had its origin in this peculiar condition of New Eng- 
land society. While in Europe property has for centuries been con- 
tinually centralizing, it has been a marked feature in New England 
that it has been constantly tending to distribution. Mr. Everett, in a 
speech delivered many years since, stated that in no instance had pro- 
perty descended directly to the third generation. To borrow a very 
graphic illustration, the pot here boils up and boils over, while in the 
old world it is continually boiling in. 

This plan of general distribution, this principle of equalizing pro- 
perty, has made the laboring classes of New England what they are 
to-day, — independent sovereigns. It is this independence of condi- 
tion that has given to them independence of thought and action. 

It is the boast of New England that her laboring classes have been 
the nurseries of her great men. They have furnished by far the 
greater proportion of our statesmen, jurists, legislators, public officers, 
merchants, and inventors. The remotest portions of this confederacy 
to day are reaping the advantages of the wisdom and councils of such 
men. Our commerce, which extends to every nook and corner of the 
globe, is the result of that vigor and enterprise which could have 
originated only in that state of society which recognizes the equality 
of labor. 

"When, therefore, we talk about the laboring classes at the North 
as being fruitful in resources, when we talk abont the recuperative 
energies of the North, we mean something. When we say there is 
hardly a contingency possible that can bring ruin upon our commerce, 
our manufactures, and our general industry, we abide by it, and are 
willing to offer as a pledge of the truth of it the proof we have 
given. 

The laboring classes are not supported ; in other words, they give 
an impetus to our industry, our agriculture, and our commerce. The 
wealth of New England, for the time being, represents the accunmla- 
iions of the laboring classes. The first class in the gradation of wealth 
is only what imperious necessity has forced out from those who were 
the laboring classes a few removes back. At the first blush, it would 
seem a bold assertion to say that the initiative to all our wealth had a 
common origin in the laboring classes ; but a careful examination and 
research will, we think, bear out the assertion to its fullest extent. 



156 FIBRILIA. 

The wealth of our foreign commerce has arisen from energy and en- 
terprise, — unlike that of any other great commercial nation, which 
history shows us grew out of conquest, or was planted and sustained 
under the overshadowing power of governments. This energy and 
enterprise, though it is constantly in a common proprietorship, owes 
its very first movement to the diligence, industry, perseverance, and 
that love of adventure and inquisitiveness (which naturally follows) of 
the laboring classes. 

The fishermen of Cape Cod had hardly made their calling a dis- 
tinctive feature of colonial industry before they expanded it into the 
whaling business ; and the still more hardy adventurers of the whaling 
fleets, discovering the rich resources of the islands of the Pacific, first 
gave birth to the great commerce we now have in that direction. A 
simple mechanic going out from New England to work on wages for 
a foreign potentate, has so made use of his faculties (faculties engen- 
dered by his independent position at home) in discovering advantages 
for trade and commerce, that he has laid the foundation for a com- 
merce with his native country which is yearly increasing in magnitude. 
The future commerce of New England with Egypt, which now 
promises to be large, will date its first impulse to the skilful work of 
the mechanics at Springfield. The Yankee machinist, who went to 
Cuba to set boilers and erect engines on the plantations, carried with 
him that same independence which permitted him at home to shake 
hands with the president, and argue with the magnates of the land ; 
and this enabled him to open up certain plans for the economy of 
labor, which resulted in making a market for millions of the product 
of New England industry. An unfortunate mechanic, in doing a 
piece of work for his master, accidentally split a piece of iron; and, 
while pondering upon the best plan to mend it (the first idea that pre- 
sents itself to a genuine Yankee), made a discovery which has re- 
sulted in building a hundred factories, with millions of capital, and 
added another to the industrial projects of New England. A poor 
laboring man, in one of our large cities, who used to stand in water up to 
his knees rolling logs, conceived ihe idea of opening up a new branch 
of trade, which he carried to a successful issue, the results of which 
arc seen in our deeply loaded vessels going to every quarter of the 
globe. He died, and left a large fortune, which is now spreading itself 
in every direction to double and swell the aggregate of our wealth. 
One of the richest merchants in this city walked from his native town 
to Boston, and earned his first money by going to a neighboring beach, 
digging a hand-cart full of clams, and dragging them more than twelve 



riBRILIA. 



157 



miles for sale : his name is associated with some of the most liberal, 
charitable bequests, and his wealth is visible in some of the noblest 
warehouses in the city. The head of one of the largest ship owning 
firms came from Cape Cod, worked as day-laborer on the wharf, became 
master of a small vessel, and then a merchant. Twenty-two of the 
presidents of the Boston banks have come up directly from the labor- 
ing classes ; and, if we were to specify them, their financial manage- 
ment would show the value of their self-education. The men who 
have given the most vitality to our railroad interests, and who stand 
in the front rank of their managers, were farmers' sons. And so on 
through the interminable list. 

We have cited these to show the irrepressible activity of the labor- 
ing classes, the power they wield in moving the great interests of 
society ; and to show the exhaustless supply from which the trade and 
industry and commerce of New England can draw. The laboring 
classes are individually connected with all that is valuable in a com- 
munity of free people or free institutions like New England; more 
than this, they are its root and its support. 

There can be no permanent embargo placed upon a commerce hav- 
ing such a source, and fed by such streams. Destroy to-day all the 
existing markets for the consumption of New England industry, and 
in a year other markets would be found. Her industrial population 
would pour out from her hill-sides and valleys, and go forth to discover 
new lands, people them, and thus create markets, as they have gone 
forth in times past : they would invest Mexico, as they have California ; 
and they would raise corn and wheat and cultivate farms along the 
rich valleys of South America, as they have all through the West. 

The different classes of laborers in the United States, 
and the contest between capital and labor, together with 
the political influences of slave-labor upon the masses, as 
well as the true condition of the working-man, and his 
means of support, both in the United States and Europe, 
form subjects of public and private discussion at the pre- 
sent time, the substance of which occupies much of the 
public press. A correspondent of the " Boston Post," 
writing on this subject, says, — 

It may be objected, that a very large amount of the poverty and 
the Bufiering, and crime growing out of it, is not attributable at all to 



158 riBRILIA. 

any real or supposed conflict between capital and labor, but to physical 
and mental derangement of body and mind, inherited from parents 
who had " eaten sour grapes ;" or brought on hy personal imprudences, 
by too studious and sedetitary habits, by indulgence in an excessive use 
of Jiervous and arterial stimulants or the indtdgence of inordinate paS' 
sions, by unavoidable epidemics, and by accidents. 

This is indeed true to some extent. There are diseases and acci- 
dents that the irrepressible conflict between capital and labor has 
nothing to do with ; but these diseases and accidents are comparatively 
few, and their prolonged effects trifling. A good and wise man prayed 
God to give him neither poverty nor riches. Great wealth often tends 
to dangerous indulgences of the animal passions, to be followed by 
crime, disease, and premature death ; and to the transmission of 
physical and mental disease to the third and fourth generation. 
Probably most, if not all, the disease and crime, which is now heredi- 
tary, was superinduced by the irregularities of extreme poverty and 
wealth, originating in the conflicts between capital and labor, and end- 
ing in debauching both the blood and the consciences of generations 
to come. But, be these suppositions as they may, the most of the present 
moral and physical evils that afflict the nations may be traced directly 
to the love and power of money in its conflicts with labor, and its tri- 
umphs over it, whether slave labor or free. 

The conclusion is, that, while free labor confers peculiar benefit 
upon the slave, the slaveowner, having his money invested in labor, 
and owning it in the services of his negro, his interest and the interest 
of the free man, who owns his own labor, are identified. The slave 
has no value, except in the sweat of his brow. There is really no 
commercial value in the man of mere muscle, black or white, but in his 
labor. Hence, as a slave groios old, his value rapidly decreases. In an 
ox, besides his labor, there is value in his beef, tallow, and hide. In 
a horse there is small value left in his hide after he is past labor. 
Hence, while an old horse is worth little, an old ox, if well fattened, 
is worth as much as the young, or nearly as much ; but an old slave is 
worth nothing, and less than nothing. 

When a good slave is worth ^500, a free laborer can get fifty cents 
per day ; when the slave is worth $1,000, free labor is worth seventy- 
five cents per day ; and, when a good slave is worth $1,500 or #2,000, 
a good free laborer is worth one dollar per day, — the value of free and 
slave labor always corresponding. The slaveholder, therefore, must 
always be in favor of laws to protect labor and products of labor from 
the encroachments of the moneyed power. In fact, the free man own- 



FIBRILIA. 159 

ing his own services, and the slaveowner owning the services of an- 
other man, must, from the very nature of things, be allies, and work 
and vote together for the enactment of laws to protect labor against 
the power of money contested by the lust of avarice. 

We often hear the opinions of Jefferson, and other great statesmen 
of history, garbled and quoted to sustain the dogma of the " irrepres- 
sible conflict." Were Jefferson, Madison, and Hamilton now living, 
and in full possession of their intellectual faculties, no men's opinions 
wonld be entitled to more respect. But they prove nothing of the 
power of steamboats and railroads, spinning-jennies and power-looms, 
telegraph and cotton gins, in giving value to the cotton plant, and 
consequently slave labor, as now seen in the agricultural and commer- 
cial relations to all the industrial pursuits of civilization. 

Less than a half million of savages imported into North America, 
under the control of the North men, have increased to near five mil- 
lions, of which four millions are held under service. Thousands of 
those are civilized, and all are semi-civilized. All schemes of emanci- 
pating the slaves are Utopian. No practicable plan has been devised, 
or can be, to emancipate and colonize them. It is impossible for the 
two races to live together on terms of political or social equality. 

Doubling the population every twenty-five years, would give in one 
hundred years more than four hundred millions of white men and 
sixty millions of black men in the present boundaries of the United 
States; and the child is born who will live to see this amazing result. 
What, then, will be the condition of the races, and what relation they 
will hold towards each other, is known only to Him of infinite wisdom. 
Nor need we trouble ourselves about it. " Sufficient for the day is the 
evil thereof; " and to God and posterity we may well leave the future 
of this and every other vexed and kindred question. 

The merits and demerits of the question of slavery, as it now exists, 
is not to be divided by the abstract opimons of Abraham, Moses, Socrates, 
Washiiigton, or Jefferson ; but by the ruling minds of the rxiling race, 
now in possession of the Government of the United States. They must 
settle and will settle this question, for the time being ; and settle it 
too with reference to the well-being — the highest good of both master 
and slave — of both slave and free labor, and of the civilized world. 
And the generations to come, from generation to generation, must settle 
it for themselves, as our fathers did for themselves, and as we will for 
ourselves. 

Who can tell how old Time will set the men on the chess-board 
one hundred years hence? Not knowing how they will be placed, 



160 FIBRILIA. 

Tvhat passing human vision can say how they ought to be, much less 
how they will be, played, by the living human wisdom of the then 
passing generation ? And if we cannot tell what future livinp genera- 
tions should do, and will do, shall we permit the dust of by-gone ages to 
he thrown into our eyes, atid blind and mislead our reason f Our fithers 
ignored precedents. Shall we be governed by them, and allow them 
to legislate for us ? God and common sense, humanity and reason, 
and progress and civilization, forbid ! 

The condition of the laborer in America in many re- 
spects is as bad as that of Great Britain ; and the following 
from " Punch " is illustrative of the real condition of the 
peasant there, as well as some of the laboring classes here, 
as compared with the interest felt in the brute creation : — 

THE PEASANT'S PETITION. 

The Petitio7x of the British Peasant to the British Landlord, humbly 
complaining, showeth unto your Honor: — 

That your Petitioner, having ventured upon the liberty (for which 
he hopes to be pardoned) of having peeped into the stables of your 
Honor (but he solemnly declares, with no evil intentions, and he would 
not take an oat without leave), has perceived that if thought, sense, 
and kindness were ever manifested towards animals, it is in your 
Honor's stables aforesaid. 

That the residence in which your Honor humanely places your 
horses is well built, water-tight, and well ventilated, is excellently 
floored, and has an excellent supply of water ; that its drainage is per- 
fect, and its light cheerful ; and that the creature that cannot live con- 
tendedly therein must be a beast. 

That the arrangements for the health and comfort of your Honor's 
horses seem to your Petitioner perfect, and designed to make the ani- 
mals happy when at home, and fit when they come out to perform any 
amount of work which your Honor may call on them to do. 

That (contrary to the arrangements in your Petitioner's dwelling, 
begging pardon for mentioning such a place) separate places are pro- 
vided for your Honor's horses, so that they sleep apart, and are in no 
■way detrimental to one another. 

That your Petitioner, knowing the kindness of your Honor's nature, 



FIBRILIA. 161 

as shown by this proviaion, and by hundreds of other acts of your 
Honor's, not to speak of your Honor's lady, and the young ladies (all 
of whom he humbly wishes a happy new year, if he may be so bold), 
takes the liberty to believe that your Honor cannot know that your Peti' 
tioner's cottage, on your Honor's estate, is badly built, is not drained^ 
has no ventilation, has a rotten floor, and is so cold that in the winter 
the only way your Petitioner aiid his family can keep bodies and souls 
together is by huddling together, adults, children, grown-up lads, and 
girls, all together in one wretched bedroom, out of which they come half 
poisoned by the foul air, not to offend your Honor'' s delicacy by saying 
any thing more than that they are good for far less work than could 
otherwise be got out of them. 

Your Petitioner therefore, for himself, his wife, four grown-up 
children, and five little ones, 

Hionbly prayeth unto your Honor, 
That you will be graciously pleased to treat Him 
LIKE A Horse. 

And your Petitioner will ever pray and work, &c. 



COMMISSION MERCHANTS AND JOBBERS. 

Tlie manufacturer of textile fabrics in New England, as 
a general thing, is controlled bj tlie vacillations in tlie 
progress or thrift of the commission merchant and jobber. 
They furnish the raw material, and take the goods manu- 
factured for sale. Great competion has arisen during the 
last twenty-five years between persons in different parts of 
the country, who are engaged in this business ; and the 
manufacturer has been almost entirely dependent upon 
them for support. They controlled the mai'kets, both for 
buying and selling; and their great numbers consumed a 
large portion of all the real profits made on the goods, 
besides keeping a constant fluctuation in prices by their 
over-strained efforts to maintain their position. If one- 
half of that class would enter manufacturing directly, the 



162 riBRILIA. 

balance would be able to afford a better living to the 
manufacturing operatives of New England ; while the trade 
would become more healthy and natural. The following, 
from the "Atlantic Monthly," for January, 1861, pub- 
lished by Messrs. Ticknor & Fields (which is doing so much 
for the progress of humanity), used by permission, will give 
a better idea of the jobber of dry-goods than the author in 
his own language would be able to do. The difference 
in education and labor between the clerk in the store 
and the apprentice in the shop, will be readily con- 
ceived ; and the results upon the world will be as striking 
as their different experiences. The enormous expenses 
incurred by the jobber, in selling goods under a system 
which has prevailed for the last fifteen years, renders it 
necessary that he should cut down the operative, who 
makes the fabric, to the smallest possible means of exist- 
ence in his vocation ; thus swallowing up more of the 
profits in this high-wrought and overstrained system of 
drumming and cramming customers (who, if let alone, 
would always buy all that they could afford to pay for) 
than the producers get from the raising of the fibre, or 
manufacturing the same into goods ready for sale. The 
farmer and manufacturer, then, have to support by 
their own labor a class more numerous, or at least who 
spend more money, than themselves. This fact is now 
well known, and of itself would overturn the present 
manufacturing system of New England in ten years, if 
other causes now inevitably pressing did not intervene. 

A Dry-Goods Jobber in 1861. 

"What is a dry-goods jobber ? No wonder you ask. You have been 
hunting, perhaps, for our peripatetic post office, and have stumbled 



riBRILIA. ^ 163 

upon Milk Street and Devonshire Street and Franklin Street. You 
are almost ready to believe in the lamp of Aladdin, that could build 
palaces in a night. Looking up to the stately and costly structures 
which have usurped the place of once familiar dwellings, and learning 
that they are, for the most part, tenanted by dry-goods jobbers, you 
feel that for such huge results there must needs be an adequate cause ; 
and so you ask, What is a dry-goods jobber ? . . . . 

A dry-goods jobber is a wholesale buyer and seller, for cash or for 
approved credit, of all manner of goods, wares, and materials, large 
and small, coarse and fine, foreign and domestic, which pertain to the 
clothing, convenience, and garnishing, by night and by day, of men, 
women, and children : from a button to a blanket ; from a calico to a 
carpet ; from stockings to a head-dress ; from an inside handkerchief 
to a waterproof; from a piece of tape to a thousand bales of shirtings; 
not forgetting linen, silk, or woollen fabrics, for drapery or upholstery, 
for bed or table, including hundreds of items which lime would fail 
me to recite. All these the dry-goods jobber provides for his customer, 
the retailer, who in his turn will dispense them to the consumer. 

A really competent and successful dry-goods jobber, in the year of 
grace one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, is a new creation. 
He is begotten of the times. Of him, as truly as of the poet, and 
with yet more emphasis, it must be said, He is born, not made. He is 
a poet, a philosopher, an artist, an engineer, a military commander, 
an advocate, an attorney, a financier, a steam-engine, a telegraph- 
operator, a servant-of-all-work, a Job, a Hercules, and a Bonaparte, 
rolled into one. 

" Exaggeration ! " do you say ? Not at all. You asked for infor- 
mation ? You shall have it to your heart's content. 

To a youth, for a time interrupted in his preparation for college, I 
said, — 

"Never mind; this falls in exactly with my well-considered plan. 
You shall go into a dry-goods store till your eyes recover strength ; it 
will be the best year's schooling of your life." 

*' How so ? " was the dubious answer ; '• what can I learn there ? " 

"Learn? Everything, — common sense included, which is gene- 
rally excluded from the university curriculum : for example, time, place, 
quantity, and the worth of each. You shall learn length, breadth 
and thickness; hard and soft; pieces and yards; dozens and the 
fractions thereof; order and confusion, cleanliness and dirt, — to love 
the one and hate the other ; materials, colors, and shades of color; 
patience, manners, decency in general ; system and method, and the 



164 riBRILIA. 

relation these sustain to independence ; in short, that there is a vast 
deal more out of books than in books ; and, finally, that the man who 
knows only what is in books is generally a lump of conceit, and of 
about as much weight in the scales of actual life as the ashes of the 
Alexandrian library, or the worms in any parchments that may have 
survived that conflagration." 

"Whew!" was his ejaculation; **I didn't know there was so 
much." 

** I dare say not. Most of your limited days have passed under the 
trainincr ol men who are in the like predicament, — whose notion of 
the chief end of man is to convert lively boys into thick dictionaries, 
and who honestly believe that the chief want of the age is your 
walking dictionary. Any other type of humanity, they tell us, ' won't 
pay.' Much they know of what will and what won't pay! This 
comes of partial education, — of one-sided, of warped and biased educa- 
tion. It puts one out of patience, — this arrogance of the University, 
^his presuming upon the ignorance of the million, this assertion of an 
indispensable necessity to make the boy of the nineteenth century a 
mere expert in some subdivision of one of the sciences. The obsti- 
nacy of a hereditary absolutism, which the world has outgrown, still 
lingers in our schools of learning. Let us admit the divine right of 
Science, admit the fitness of a limited number of our youth to become 
high-priests in her temple ; but no divine right of fossil interpreters of 
Science to compel the entire generation to disembowel their sons, and 
make of these living temples mere receptacles of Roman, Grecian, 
or Egyptian relics. We don't believe that ' mummy is medicinal,' 
the Arabian doctor Haly to the contrary notwithstanding. If it ever 
was, its day has gone by. Therefore let all sensible people pray for a 
Cromwell, — not to pull down University Science, but to set up the 
Commonwealth of Common Sensp, to subordinate the former to the 
latter, and to proclaim an education for our own age and for its exi- 
gencies. Your dry-goods jobber stands in violent contrast to your 
university man in the matter of practical adaptation. His knowledge 
*s no affair of dried specimens, but eveiy particle of it a living 
knowledge, ready, at a moment's warning, for all or any of the de- 
mands of life." 

You are perhaps thinking, — " Yes, that is supposable, because 
the lessons learned by the jobber are limited to the common affairs of 
daily life, are not prospective ; because, belonging only to the passing 
day, they are easily surveyed on all sides, and their full use realized at 
once; in short a mere matter of buying and selling goods, — a very 



FIBRILIA. 165 

ioferior thing as compared with the dignified and scholarly labors of 
the student." 

How mistaken this estimate is will appear, as we advance to somcS- 
thing like a comprehensive survey of the dry-goods jobber's sphere. 

First, then^ he is a buyer of all manner of goods, wares, and materi. 
als proper to his department in commerce. . . . His forecast is 
taxed to the utmost, as to what may be the condition of his own 
market, six, twelve, or eighteen months from the time of ordering 
goods, bo1h as to the quantity which may be in market, and as to the 
fashion, which is always changing, — and also as to the condition of 
his customers to pay for goods, which will often depend upon the fer- 
tility of the season. As respects home-purchases, he is compelled to 
learn, or to suffer for the want of knowing, that the difference between 
being a skilful, pleasant buyer and the opposite, is a profit or loss of 
from five to seven and a half or ten per cent, — or, in other words, the 
difference oftentimes between success and ruin, between comfort and 
discomfort, between being a welcome and a hated visitor. 

Is your curiosity piqued to know wherein buyers thus contrasted 
may differ? They differ endlessly, like the faces you meet on the 
street. Thus, one man is born to an open, frank, friendly, and courte- 
ous manner ; another is cold, reserved, and suspicious. One is prompt, 
hilarious, and provocative of every good feeling, whenever you chance 
to meet; the other is slow, morose, and fit to waken every dormant 
antipathy in your soul. An able buyer is, or becomes, observing to 
the last degree. He knows the slightest differences in quality and in 
style, and possesses an almost unerring taste, — knows the condition 
of the markets, — knows every holder of the article he wants, and the 
lowest price of each. . . . He knows the estimate put upon his 
own note by that seller. He knows what his note will sell for in the 
street. He knows to a feather's weight the influence of each of these 
items upon the mind of the seller of whom he wishes to make a 
purchase. . . . He can unravel any combination, penetrate any 
disguise, surmount any obstacle. Beyond all other men, he knows 
when to talk, and when to refrain from talking; how to throw the 
burden of negotiation on the seller; how to get the goods he wants 
at his own price, — not at his asking, but on the suggestion of the 
seller 

Tlie incompetent man, on the other hand, is presuming, exacting, 
and unfeeling. He not only desires, but asserts the desire in the very 
teeth of the seller, to have something which that seller has predeter- 
mined that he shall not have. He fights a losing game from the start. 



166 FIBRILIA. 

He will probably begin by depreciating the goods which he knows, or 
should know, that the seller has reason to hold in high esteem. He 
will be likely enough to compare them to some other goods which he 

knows to be inferior 

"But," you are asking, "do only those succeed who are born to 
these extraordinary endowments ? And those who do succeed, are 
they, in fact, each and all of them, such wonderfully capable men as 
you have described ? " 

If by success you mean mere money-making, it is not to be denied 
that some men do hat by an instinct, little, if at all, superior to that 
of the dog who smells out a bone. ... It must be owned that a 
portion of the successful ones are lucky, — that a portion of them 
use the blunt weapon of an indomitable will, as an efficient substitute 
for the finer edge of that nice tact and good manners which they 

lack 

But there are other things to be said of buying. The dry-goods 
jobber frequents the auction-room. If you have never seen a large 
sale of dry-goods at auction, you have missed cne of the remarkable 
incidents of our day. You are not yet aware of how much an auc- 
tioneer and two or three hundred jobbers can do and endure in the 
short space of three hours. ... If you would see the evidence of 
comprehensive and minute knowledge, of good taste, quick wit, sound 
judgment, and electrical decision, attend an auction-sale in New York 
some morning. There will be no lack of fun to season the solemnity 
of business, nor of the mixture of courtesy and selfishness usual in 
every gathering, whether for philanthropic, scientific, or commercial 
purposes. Many dry-goods jobbers will attend the sale with no inten- . 
tion of buying, but simply to note the prices obtained ; and, having 
traced the goods to their oAvners, to get the same in better order and 
on better terms ; the commission paid to the auctioneer being divided, 
or wholly conceded by the seller to the buyer, according to his esti- 
mate of the note. 

A dry goods buyer will sometimes spend a month in New York, the 
first third or half of which he will devote to ascertaining what goods 
are in the market, and what are to arrive ; also to learning the mood 
of the English, Fiench, and Germans who hold the largest stocks. 
Sometimes these gentlemen will make an early trial of their goods at 
auction. Unsatisfactory results will rouse their phlegm or fire ; and 
they declare they will not send another piece of goods to auction, 
come what may. For local or temporary reasons, buyers sometimes 
persist in holding back till the season is so far advanced that the for- 



FIBRILIA. 167 

eign gentlemen become alarmed. Their credits in London, Paris, 
and Amsterdam are running out, — they are anxious to make remittan- 
ces ; and then ensues one of those dry-goods panics so characteristic 
of I^ew York and its mixed multitude. An avalanche of goods de- 
scends upon the auction-rooms, and prices drop ten, twenty, forty per 
cent it may be ; and the unlucky or short-sighted men who made 
early purchases are in desperate haste to run off their stocks before 
the market is irreparably broken down. Whether, therefore, to buy 
early or late, in large or in small quantities, at home or abroad, — are 
questions beset with difficulty. He who imports largely may land 
his goods in a bare market and reap a golden harvest, or in a market, 
so glutted with goods that the large sums he counts out to pay the 
duties may be but a fraction of the loss he knows to be inevitable. 

. . . And when you remember that the purchases of dry-goods 
must be made in very large quantities, from a month to six or even 
twelve months before the buyer can sell them, and that his sales are 
many times larger than his capital, and most of them on long credit, 
you have before you a combination of exigencies hardly to be paral- 
leled elsewhere. 

The crisis of 1857 brought a general collapse. Scores and scores of 
jobbers failed ; very few dared to buy goods. Mills were compelled to 
run on short time, or to cease altogether. The country became bare 
of the common necessaries of life 

When a financial crisis overtakes the community, we hear much and 
sharp censure of all speculation. Speculators, one and all, are forthwith 
consigned to an abyss of obloquy. The virtuous public outside of trade 
washes its hands of all participation in the iniquity. This same virtu- 
ous public knows very little of what it is talking about. What is 
speculation ? Shall we say, in brief and in general, that it consists in 
running risks, in taking extra-hazardous risks, on the chance of mak- 
ing unusually large profits ? Is it that men have abandoned the care- 
ful ways of the fathers, and do not confine themselves to small stores, 
small stocks, and cash transactions ? . . . . 

. . . They do not consider, that, an immense amount of goods 
being of compulsion sold without profit, a yet other huge amount must 
be so sold as to compensate for this. Nor do they consider that the pos- 
sibility of doing this is often contingent upon the buyer's carefully 
calculated probability of a rise in the article he is purchasing. Many 
a time is the jobber enabled and inclined to purchase largely only by 
the assurance that from the time of his purchase the price will be ad- 
ranced. 



168- FIBRILIA. 

The selling of dry-goods is another department in high art about 
which the ignorance of outsiders is ineflFable. I was once asked, in 
the way of courtesy and good neighborhood, to call on a clergyman 
in our vicinity, — which I did. Desirous of doing his part in the mat- 
ter of good fellowship and smooth conversation, he began thus, — 

" Well now, Mr. Smith, you know all about business : I suppose, if 
I were to go into a store to buy goods, nineteen men out of twenty 
would cheat me if they could ; wouldn't they ? " 

"No, sir ! " I answered, with a swelling of indignation at the injus- 
tice, a mingling of pity for the ignorance, and a foreboding of small 
benefit from the preaching, of a minister of the gospel who knew so 
little of the world he lived in. "No, sir; nineteen men in twenty 
would mt cheat you if they could ; for the best of all reasons, — it would 
be dead against their own interest." 

Not a day passes but the question is asked by our youths who are 
being initiated in the routine of selling goods, — " Is this honest ? Is 
that honest ? Is it honest to mark your goods as costing more than 
they do cost ? Is it honest to ask one man more than you ask another ? 
Ought not the same price to be named to every buyer ? Isn't it cheat- 
ing to get twenty-five per cent profit ? Can a man sell goods without 
lying ? Are men compelled to lie and cheat a little in order to earn 
an honest living ? " 

What is the reason that these questions will keep coming up, — 
that they can no more be laid than Banquo's ghost ? Here are some 
of the reasons. First and foremost, multitudes of young men, whose 
parents followed the plough, the loom, or the anvil, have taken it into 
their heads that they will neither dig, hammer, nor ply the shuttle. 
To soil their hands with manual labor they cannot abide. The sphere 
of commerce looks to their longing eyes a better thing than lying 
down in green pastures, or than a peaceful life beside stiil waters, pro- 
cured by laborious farming, or by any mechanical pursuit. Clean 
linen and stylish apparel are inseparably associated in their minds 
with an easy and elegant life ; and so they pour into our cities, and the 
ranks of the merchants are filled, and over filled many times. Once, 
the merchant had only to procure an inviting stock, and his goods 
sold ti.eraselves. He did not go after customers, — they came to him ; 
and it was a matter of favor to them to supply their wants. Now, all 
that is changed. There are many more merchants than are needed ; 
buyers are in request ; and buyers whose credit is the best, to a very 
great extent, dictate the prices at which they will buy. The question 
is now no longer, How large a profit can I get ? but, How small a pro- 



FIBRILIA. 169 

fit shall I accept ? The competition for customers is so fierce that the 
seller hardly dares ask any profit, for fear his more anxious neighbor 
will undersell him. In order to attract customers, one thing after 
another has been made '* a leading article," a bait to be offered at cost 
or even less than cost, — that being oftentimes the condition on which 
alone the purchaser will make a beginning of buying. 

" Jenkins," cried an anxious seller, *' you don't buy any thing of me, 
and I can sell you as cheap as any. Here 's a bale of sheetings now, 
at eight cents, will do you good." 

" How many have you got ? " 

" Oh ! plenty." 

" Well, how many ? " 

" Fifteen bales." 

" Well, I'll take them." 

"Come in, and buy something more." 

*• No, nothing more to-day." 

There was a loss of seventy-five dollars, and he did not dare buy 
more. 

It will be obvious that the selling a part of one's goods at less than 
cost enhances the necessity of getting a profit on the rest. But how 
to do this, under tbe sharp scrutiny of a buyer who knows that his 
own success, not to say his very existence, depends upon his paying 
no profit possible to be avoided, — no profit, at all events, not certainly 
paid by some sharp neighbor who is competiog with him for the same 
trade ? 

" But is there any thing in all this," you are asking, " to preclude 
the jobber's telling the truth ? " 

I answer : In order to get his share of the best custom in his line, 
the dry-goods jobber has taken a store in the best position in town, at 
a rent of from three to fifty thousand dollars a year ; has hired men 
and boys at all prices, from fifty dollars to five thousand, — and 
enough of these to result in an aggregate of from five to fifty thousand 
dollars a year for help, without which his business cannot be done. 
Add to this the usual average for store-expenses of every name, and 
for the family-expenses of two, five, or seven partners ; and you find a 
dry-goods firm under the necessity of getting out of their year's 
sales somewhere from fifteen to a hundred and fifty thousand dollars 
profit 

Now, though there is nothing even in all these urgencies to justify 
a single lie or fraud, there is much to sharpen a man's wits to secure 
the sale of his goods. . . . Every dry-goods jobber knows that his 

8 



170 FIBRILIA. 

customer's foolish hope and expectation often demand three absurdi- 
ties of him : first, the assurance that he has the advantage over all 
other jobbers in a better stock of goods, better bought; secondly, that 
he has a peculiar friendship for himself; and thirdly, that, though of 
other men he must needs get a profit, in his special instance he shall 
ask little or none ; and that, such is his regard for him, it is a matter 
of no moment whether he live in Lowell or Louisiana, in New Bedford 
or Nebraska, — or whether he pay New England bank notes within 
thirty days, or wild-cat money and wild lands, which may be converted 
into cash, with more or less expense and loss, somewhere between 
nine months and nine-and-twenty years. 

And yet the uninitiated "can't understand how an honest merchant 
can have two prices for the same goods." An honest man has but one 
price for the same goods, and that is the cash price. All outside of 
that is barter, — goods for notes. His first inquiry is. What is the 
market-value of the note offered ? True, he knows that many of the 
notes he takes cannot be sold at all ; but he also knows that the notes 
he is willing to take will in the aggregate be guarantied by a reserva- 
tion of one, two, or three per cent, and that the note of the particular 
applicant for credit will tend to swell or to diminish the rate ; and he 
cannot afford to exchange his goods for any note, except at a profit 
which will guarantee its payment when due, — which, in other words, 
will make the note equal in value to cash. 

. . . Among merchants it is matter of common notoriety that the 
prompt and exact adherence to orders insisted on by merchants, and 
prompt advice of receipt of business and of progress, cannot be expected 
from our worthy brethren at the bar. (The few honorable exceptions 
are respectfully informed that they are not referred to.) We do not ex- 
pect them to weigh or measure the needless annoyance to which they 
often subject us, because they have never been, like ourselves, trained 
to the use of weights and measures ; and therefore we are not willing 
to stigmatize them as dishonest, though they do, in fact, often steal 
our time and strength and patience by withholding an answer to a 
business letter. 

None but those who are in the business know the assiduous atten- 
tion with which the dry-goods jobber follows up his customers. None 
but they know the urgent necessity of doing this. The jobber may 
have travelled a thousand miles to make his customer's acquaintance, 
and to prevail upon him to come to Boston to make his purchases ; 
and some neighbor, who boards at the hotel he happens to make his 
resting-plaee, lights upon him, shows him attention, tempts him with 



PIBRILIA. 171 

bargains not to be refused, prevails upon him to make the bulk of his 
purchases of him, before his first acquaintance even hears of his arrival. 
To guard against disappointments such as this, the jobber sends his 
salesmen to live at hotels, haunts the hotels himself, studies the hotel- , 
register far more assiduously than he can study his own comfort, or 
the comfort of his wife and children. Of one such jobber it was said 
facetiously, — "He goes the round of all the hotels every morning 
with a lantern, to wake up his customers." I had an errand one day 
at noon to such a devotee. Inquiring for him in the counting*room, I 
was told by his bookkeeper to follow the stairs to the top of the store, 
and I should find him. I mounted flight after flight to the attic, atd 
there I found, not only the man, but also one or two of his customers, 
surrounfiing a huge packing-case, upon which they had extemporized 
a diniAr, — cold turkey and tongue, and other edibles, — taken stand- 
ing, with plenty of fun for a dessert. The next time we happened to 
meet, I said, •* So you take not only time, but also customers, by the 
forelock ! " 

"Yes, to be sure;" was his answer; "let 'em go to their hotel to 
dinner in the middle of a bill, and somebody lights upon 'em, and car. 
ries 'em oflf to buy elsewhere ; or they begin to remember that it is a 
long way home, feel homesick, slip off to New York, as being so far 
on the way, and that's the last you see of 'em. No, we're bound to 
see 'em through, and no let-up till they've bought all they got on their 
memorandum." 

We have not yet touched the question of credit. To whom shall the 
jobber sell his goods ? It is the question of questions. Many a man 
who has bought well, who in other respects has sold well, who pos- 
sessed all the characteristics which recommend a man to the confi- 
dence and to the good-will of his fellows, has made shipwreck of his 
fortunes because of his inability to meet this question. He sold his 
goods to men who never paid him. To say that in this the most suc- 
cessful jobbers are governed by an instinct, by an intuitive conviction 
which is superior to all rules of judgment, would be to allege what it 
would be difiicult to prove. It would be less difficult to maintain that 
every competent merchant, however unconscious of the fact, has a. 
standard of judgment by which he tries each applicant for credit 
There are characteristics of men who can safely be credited, entirely 
familiar to his thoughts. He looks upon the man, and instantly feels 
that he is or is not the man for him. He thinks his decision an in- 
stinct, or an intuition, because, through much practice, these mental 
operations have become so rapid as to defy analysis. Not being in- 



172 riBRILIA. 

fallible, he sometimes mistakes ; and, when he so mistakes, he will be 
sure to say, *' I made that loss because I relied too much upon this 
characteristic, or because I did not allow its proper weight to the ab- 
sence of some other, — because I thought his shrewdness or his 
honesty, his enterprise or his economy, would save him:" implying 
that he had observed such non-conformity to his standard, but had 
relied upon some excellency in excess to make up for it. 

What are the perplexities which beset the question, To whom shall 
the jobber sell his goods ? They are manifold ; and some of them are 
peculiar to our country. Our territory is very extensive ; our popula- 
tion very heterogeneous ; the economy and close calculation which 
recommend a man in Massachusetts may discredit him in Louisiana. 
The very countenance is often a sure indication of character and of 
capacity, when it is one of a class and a region whose peculiarities we 
thoroughly understand ; but, coming to us from other classes and re- 
gions, we are often at fault, —more especially in these latter days, 
when all strongraindedness is presumed to be foresh&dowed in a stiff 
beard. Time was when something could be inferred from a lip, a 
mouth, a chin, — when character could be found in the contour and 
color of a cheek ; but that time has passed. The time was, when, 
among a homogeneous people, a few time-honored characteristics 
were both relied on and insisted on: for example, good parentage, 
good moral character, a thorough training, and superior capacity, 
joined to industry, economy, sound judgment, and good manners. 
But Young America has learned to make light of some of these, and 
to dispense altogether with others of them. 

Once, the buyer was required to prove himself an honest, worthy, 
and capable man. If he wanted credit he must humbly sue for it, and 
prove himself deserving of it ; and no man thought of applying for it 
who was not prepared to furnish irrefragable evidence. Once, a refer- 
ence to some respectable acquaintance would serve the purpose ; and 
neighbors held themselves bound to tell all they knew. The increase 
of merchants, and fierce competition for customers, have changed 
this. Men now regard their knowledge of other men as a part of their 
capital or stock in trade. . . . Alas, it cannot be denied that even 
dry-goods jobbers, with all their extraordinary endowments, are not 
quite perfect! for some of them will " state the thing that is not," 
and others " convey" their neighbor's property into their own coffers, — 
men who prefer gain to godliness, and mistake much money for 
respectability. 
-: There are very few men, in certain sections of the country, who 



FIBRILIA. 173 

will absolutely refuse to give a letter of introduction to a neighbor on 
the simple ground of ill-desert. Men dread the ill-will of their neigh- 
bor, and particularly the ill-will of an unscrupulous neighbor; so, 
when such a neighbor asks a letter, they give it. I remember such a 
one bringing a dozen or more letters, some of which contained the 
highest commendation. The writer of one of these letters sent a 
piivate note, through the mail, warning one of the persons addressed 
against the bearer of his own commendatory letter. . . . One of 
the greatest rogues that ever came to Boston brought letters from two 
of the foremost houses in New York to two firms second to none in 
Boston 

. . . Never, perhaps, was it so true as now, that ** the seller has 
need of a hundred eyes." The competent jobber uses his eyes first of 
all upon the person of the man who desires to buy of him. He ques- 
tions him about himself with such directness or indirectness as in- 
tinct and experience dictate. He learns to discriminate between the- 
sensitiveness of the high-toned honest man and the sensitiveness of 
the rogue. Many men of each class are inclined to resent and resist 
the catechism. Strange as it may seem, the very men who would in- 
exorably refuse a credit to those who should decline to answer their 
inquiries are the men most inclined to resent any inquiry about them- 
selves. While they demand the fullest and most particular informa- 
tion from their customers, they wonder that others will not take them 
on their own estimate of themselves. 

The jobber next directs his attention to the buyer's knowledge of 
goods, — of their quality, their style, their worth in market, and their 
fitness for his own market, — all of which will come to light, as he 
offers to his notice the various articles he has for sale. He will im- 
prove the opportunity to draw him out in general conversation ; so 
guiding it as to touch many points of importance, and yet not so as to 
betray a want of confidence. He sounds him as to his knowledge of 
other merchants at home and in the city; takes the names of his 
references, — of several, if he can get them ; puts himself in commu- 
nication with men who know him, both at his home and in the city. 
If he can harmonize the information derived from all these sources 
into a consistent and satisfactory whole, he will then do his utmost to 
secure his customer, both by selling him his goods at a profit so small 
that he need have little fear of any neighbor's underselling him, and 
also by granting every possible accommodation as to the time and 
manner of payment. 

A moderately thoughtful man will by this time begin to think the 



174 FIBRILIA. 

elements of toil and of perplexity already suggested sufficient /or the 
time and strength of any man, and more than he would wish to under- 
take. But experience alone could teach him in how many ways in- 
dulged customers can and dn manage to make the piofit they pay so 
small, and the toil and vexation they occasion so great, that the job- 
ber is often put upon weighing the question, Should I not be richer 
without them ? Thus, for example, some of them will affect to doubt 
that the jobber wishes to sell to them, and propose, as a test, that he 
shall let them have some choice article at the cost, or at less than the 
cost, now on one pretext, and now on another; intimating an indis- 
position to buy, if they cannot be indulged in that one thing. If they 
carry their point, that exceptional price is thenceforth claimed as the 
rule. Another day the concession will be asked on something else; 
and by extending this game, so as to include a number of jobbers, 
these shrewd buyers will manage to lay in an assorted stock, on which 
there will have been little or no profit to the sellers. To cap the 
climax of vexation, these persons will very probably come in, after not 
many days, and propose to cash their notes at double interest off. 
Only an official of the inquisition could turn the thumb-screw so 
many times, and so remorselessly. 

But we have yet to consider the collection of debts. The jobber 
who has not capital so ample as to buy only for cash is expected in- 
variably to settle his purchases by giving his note, payable at bank on 
a fixed day. He pays it when due, or fails. Not so with his cus- 
tomers : multitudes of them shrink from giving a note payable at 
bank, and some altogether refuse to do so. They wish to buy on 
open account ; or to give a note to be paid at maturity, if convenient, 
— otherwise not. The number of really prompt and punctual men, as 
compared with those who are otherwise, is very small. The number 
of those who never fail is smaller still. The collection laws are com- 
pletely alike, probably, in no two States. Some of them appear to 
have been constructed for the accommodation, not of honest creditors, 
but of dishonest debtors. In others, they are such as to put each 
jobber in fear of every other, — a first attachment taking all the pro- 
perty, if the debt be large enough, leaving little or nothing, usually, 
for those who have been willing to give the debtor such indulgence as 
might enable him to pay in full, were it granted by all his creditors. 

No jobber can open his letters in the morning in the certainty of 
finding no tidings of a failure. No jobber, leaving his breakfast-table, 
can assure his wife and children, sick or well, that he will dine or sup 
with them. Anj one of a dozen railroad-traias may, for atight he 



FIBRILIA. 175 

knows, be sweeping him away to some remote point, to battle with 
the mischances of trade, the misfortunes of honest men, or the 
knavery of rogues and the meshes of the law. Once in the cars, he 
casts his eye around in uneasy expectation of finding some one or 
more of his neighbors bound on the same errand. While yet peering 
over the seats in front of him, he is unpleasantly startled by a slap on 
the shoulder, and, *' Ah, John ! bound east ? What's in the wind ? 
Any ducks in these days?" "Why, — yes, — no, — that is, I'm go- 
ing down along; little uncertain how far; depends on circumstances." 
"So, so: I see. Mum's the word." Well, neither is quite ready to 
trust the other, neither quite ready to know the worst. So long as a 
blow is suspended, it may not fall ; and so, with desperate exertions, 
they change the subject, converse on things indifferent, or subside into 
more or less moody meditations upon their respective chances and 
prospects. 

Any jobber who has seen service will tell you stories without num- 
ber of these vexatious experiences, sometimes dashed with the comical 
in no common measure. He will tell you of how they arrived at 
the last town on the railroad, — some six or seven of them ; of how 
not a word had been lisped of their destination ; of the stampede 
from the railroad-station to the tavern ; of the spirited bids for horses 
and wagons; of the chop-fallen disappointment of the man for whom 
no vehicle remained ; of his steeple-chase a-bareback ; and of their 
various successes, with writs and officers, in their rush for the store of 
the delinquent debtor. Of three such Jehus the story goes, that, two 
of them having bought the monopoly of the inside of the only vehicle, 
and in so doing, as they thought, having utterly precluded any chance 
for the third, their dauntless competitor instantly mounted with the 
driver, commenced negotiations for the horse, which speedily resulted 
in a purchase ; and thereupon detached the horse from the vehicle, 
drove on, and effected a first attachment, which secured his debt. 

The occurrence of " a bad year " compels many a jobber to abandon 
his store and home for one, two, or three months together, and visit 
his customers scattered all over the land, to make collections. Then 
it is that the power of persuasion, if possessed, is brought into effi- 
cient use ; discrimination, too, is demanded, — good judgment, and 
power of combination. For a debt that cannot be paid in mon^y may 
possibly be paid partly in money, or in merchandise of some sort, and 
in part secured; and, among the securities offered, to choose those 
which will involve the least delay is generally no easy matter. 



176 riBRILIA. 

Success in the jobbing business makes such demand on talent and 
capacity as outsiders seldom dream of. Half-a-dozen Secretaries of 
State, with a Governor and a President thrown in, would not suffice 
to constitute a first-class jobbing firm. The general or special incom- 
petency of these distinguished functionaries in their several spheres 
may probably be covered by the capacity of their subordinates. The 
President of these United States, of late years, at all events, is not 
supposed to be in a position to know whether the will is or is not " a 
self determining power." But no jobbing firm can thus cloak its de- 
ficiencies, or shirk its responsibilities. Goods must be bought and 
sold and paid for; and a master-spirit in each department, capable of 
penetrating to every particular, and of controlling every subordinate, 
cannot be dispensed with. He must know that every man to whom 
he delegates any portion of his work is competent and trustworthy. 
He must be able to feel that the thing which he deputes to each will 
be as surely and as faithfully done as though done by his own hand. 
No criticism is more common or more depreciatory than that " such 
a one will not succeed, because he has surrounded himself with incom- 
petent men." 

It is much to be regretted that it cannot be said, that no man can 
succeed in the jobbing business who is not a model of courtesy. Un- 
happily, our community has not reached that elevation. But this may 
with truth be affirmed, — that many a man fails for the want of cour- 
tesy, and for the want of that good-will to his fellows from which all 
real courtesy springs. There is small chance for any man to succeed 
who does not command his own spirit. There is no chance whatever 
for an indolent man ; and, in the long run, little or no chance for the 
dishonest man. The same must be said for the timid and for the 
rash man. Nor can we offer any encouragement to the intermittent 
man. From year's end to year's end, the dry-goods jobber finds him- 
self necessitated to be studying his stock and his ledger. He knows, 
that, while men sleep, the enemy will be sowing tares. In his case, 
the flying moments are the enemy, and bad stock and bad debts are 
the tares. To weed out each of these is his unceasing care. And, as 
both the one and the other are for ever choking the streams of income 
■which should supply the means of paying his own notes, his no less 
constant care is to provide such other conduits as shall insure him 
always a full basin at the bank. Nobody but a jobber can know the 
vexation of a jobber who cannot find money to cash his notes when 
they are beginning to be thrown into the market at a price a shade 
lower than his neighbor's notes are sold at. 



FIBRILIA* 177 

In conclusion, a few material facts should be stated. 

As a general proposition, it is not to be denied, that those who are 
in haste to get rich will find in the dry goods jobbing business many 
temptations and snares into which one may easily fall. A young man 
who is not fortified by a faithful home-training, and by sound religious 
principle, will be likely enough to degenerate into a heartless money- 
maker. 

While the young man who has been well trained at home, who ap- 
preciates good manners, good morals, and good books, will derive im- 
mense advantage in acquiring that quick discernment, that intuitive 
apprehension of the rights and of the pleasure of others, and that 
nice tact which characterize the highest style of merchants, — he who 
has not been thus prepared will be more than likely to mistake 
brusquerie for manliness, and brutality for the sublime of independence. 
As, in a great house, there are vessels unto honor and also unto dis- 
honor, so in the purlieus of the dry-goods trade there are gentlemen 
who would honor and adorn any society, and also men whose manners 
would shame Hottentots, whose language, innocent of all preference 
for Worcester or Webster, — a terror to all decent ideas, like scare- 
crows in corn-fields, — is dressed in the cast-ofF garments of the refuse 
of all classes. 

Success in retailing does not necessarily qualify a man to succeed 
in the dry-goods jobbing business. The game is played on a much 
larger scale. It includes other chances, and demands other qualifica- 
tions, natural and acquired. Instances are not wanting of men who, 
in the smaller towns, had made to themselves a name, and acquired 
an honorable independence, sinking both capital and courage in their 
endeavors to manage the business of a city jobber. 

It should be well remembered, that, while it is not indispensable to 
success in the jobbing business that each partner should be an expert 
in every department of the business, — in buying, selling, collecting, 
paying, and book-keeping, — it is absolutely necessary that each 
should be such in his own department, and that the firm, as a unit, 
should include a completely competent man for each and every one 
of these departments. The lack of the qualities which are indispen- 
sable to any one of these may, and probably will, prove an abyss deep 
enough to ingulf the largest commercial ship afloat. 

Finally, to avoid disappointment, the man who would embark in the 
dry-goods trade should make up his mind to meet every variety of 
experience known to mortals, and to be daunted by nothing. He will 
assuredly find fair winds and head winds, clear skies and cloudy skies, 



178 riBRILIA. 

head seas and cross seas, as well as stern seas. A wind that justifies 
studding-sails may change, without premonition, to a gale that will 
make ribbons of top-sails and storm-sails. The best crew afloat can- 
not preclude all casualties, or exclude sleepless nights and cold sweats 
now and then; but a quick eye, a cool head, a prompt hand, and in- 
domitable perseverance will overcome almost all things. 

Such is the character, quahfications, experience, and 
necessities of that class of merchants who stand between 
the producer and consumer, and who swallow up so large 
a portion of the profits of the work of their hands. It 
purports to be written bj an experienced adept in the art 
of traffic, and no doubt is correct. What chance have the 
simple farmer and mechanic, who turn their whole ener- 
gies to natural production and construction, in the hands 
of such men as those described, unless they are honest 
guardians of their trust ? Most certainly the operative is 
entirely at the mercy of such as control him in this great 
web or labyrinth of metaphysical interchange between the 
producer and consumer. The causes of this evil are 
plainly laid down. Too many fly from the farm and the 
workshop to the counting-house and salesroom for employ- 
ment who are dazzled with the glittering appearances of 
this class, and are charmed with the hope of living without 
manual labor. The remedy is simple. The dignity of 
labor will support itself ; and the evil before described will 
disappear when the young men of the country remain at 
their mills in the rural districts, and sell, as well as manu- 
facture, their goods. A sale will surely come to their very 
doors when this system is carried out ; and greater profits 
will follow. 



FIBRILIA. 179 



FIBROUS MANUFACTURES. 

Fibrous manufactures are confined to two general prin- 
ciples ; viz., the long and the short stapled modes of spin- 
ning. Each process is entirely different in its character. 
The short stapled process is confined to cotton and wool. 
The long staples are flax, hemp, silk, jute, and like fibres, 
the filaments of which are naturally long. The new produc- 
tion of fibrilia is intended for the short stapled machinery now 
in use for the manufacture of cotton and wool ; and there- 
fore every factory for the old processes is available for the 
new. This will save many millions of dollars to the 
country over and above a process requiring new ma- 
chinery. The differences in manufacture, and the dis- 
coveries made in bringing out the new article, in part may 
be summed up in the following order: First, the flax- 
straw is mown and threshed by machinery, instead of 
being pulled and rippled by hand. Second, the rotting 
process, if used at all, is modified by a filtering system, 
which dissolves the glumien, instead of a fermenting pro- 
cess, which sets the azotized matter holding the fibres 
together. Third, the fact has been established, that the 
ultimate fibrils of flax are short, and overlap each other in 
their position upon the original stalk ; are tubular, or 
cylindrical ; and are capable of being separated naturally, 
at their points of cohesion, under the solving and me- 
chanical processes combined, — instead of being a long 
line, as defined by old examiners of the fibre, who describe 
the fibril in its minute form as being the segment of a 
circle or tube which has been split asunder. Fourth, the 
glumien in flax and other fibres is solved by natural and 



180 FIBRILIA. 

easy processes, using solvents natural to the juices of the 
plant under pressure, and with warm fluids in the first 
processes, instead of boiling the fibres first in alkalies, 
which have a tendency to set the glumien instead of dis~ 
solving it. Fifth, the fibres are bleached and colored in a 
much simpler, quicker, and more economical manner, than 
by the old methods, and with no injury to the material. 
Sixth, the fibres are separated and shortened by machinery, 
with drawing rollers, graduated so as to give any length 
fibril required by a tensile strain, which strands the fibres, 
leaving the ends separated or split, so as to easily unite in 
spinning, instead of cutting the fibre as heretofore at- 
tempted, which leaves blunt ends not readily uniting in 
spinning. Seventh, by the combined process, the fibrils 
are smoothed by dissolving the glumien adhering to them 
in the old process ; rendering the cloth made from fibrilia 
smoother than linen, and changing the whole character of 
the same as a conducter of either electricity or heat, there- 
by rendering the same more comfortable in wear. Eighth, 
an article is produced which spins like cotton or wool, and 
makes a better cloth than cotton, at a less price, and for 
about one-half the cost of the old process of making linen. 
These advantages will commend themselves to the re- 
flective world, who no doubt will improve them, — in which 
labor we wish them good speed. The subject of fibrous 
manufactures is broad, and there is no fear of its being 
overdone for generations yet to come. Thirty milhon 
bales of an equivalent to cotton will be none too much to 
supply the present demands of the world. The humani- 
tarian principle of the age demands enlai'gement through 
this mode of aiding the development of the moral and 
physical being of mankind. 



FIBRILIA. 181 

New England was the pioneer in the manufactur- 
ing, as well as the common-school system ; and she 
has much to remember with pride as well as gratitude. 
Her record is deeply engraved in the history of the re- 
public, and in its influence upon the world. Her sires 
were the first to plant the seeds of liberty ; and they 
nourished them with their blood as well as tears. The 
growth has been strong, and the yield much ; but the fruit 
is not yet ripe, and the whole world is now looking for the 
final result of one of the greatest political experiments 
ever yet tried. Foreign governments are wondering 
whether the weeds in this vast field — now, alas! too 
plainly visible — will be suffered to grow up, and choke 
the ripening fruit, and destroy its perpetuity ; or whether 
coming time shall witness the destruction, and the grain, 
"fully ripe," be gathered to the garner, and the pic- 
ture and the lesson be finished. What becomes the 
duty of the northern man in this state of national 
conflict and confusion? The answer should be plain to 
every heart : Do right, and be fearless as to the result. 
What shall New England do ? Look first to herself. Do 
justice to her whole people where she has neglected them, 
and make amends. If she has suffered one class, either 
through her civil or social laws, to oppress another, she 
should remedy the evil, and look with charity and sympa- 
thy upon those whose simple and unobtrusive, though la- 
borious, life has been her support in times past, and to 
whom only can she look in seasons of coming peril. Let 
her protect the laborer, the mechanic, and the farmer in 
their own proper calhng, and guard their rights with a 
jealous care, that their earnings shall not be consumed by 
multiplicities in traffic by the non-producing part of her 



183 FIBRILIA. 

communitj, some of whom set themselves up as their 
masters ; and who, if suffered to go on, would so counter- 
feit jN^ew England products and New England hearts, that 
they would soon be unknown in comparison with the past. 
She should consohdate her whole people by the indissolu- 
ble bonds of affection and justice. Then all her elements 
of industry will become active, her people happy, and her 
institutions respected by the whole Union and the world. 
Thrice happy will she then be, and thrice useful in the 
cause of humanity ! Her benevolence, now so large, will 
be practical, and will be the more valuable from the judg- 
ment and discretion brought to bear in its use. 



